Below The Minimum
by King Saige
Summary: McKinley is one of the top three performance arts schools in the country because of Mr. Schue, but now he's taken on another challenge. Crenshaw High school in Miami is close to being closed and Will is their last chance at rehabilitation before the school is shut down for good. Can he fix this school like he did McKinley? Or is it already beyond help?
1. Suspension Averted

Summary: McKinley is one of the top three performance arts schools in the country because of Mr. Schue, but now he's taken on another challenge. Crenshaw High school in Miami is one of the worst schools in Florida and Will is their last chance at rehabilitation before the school is shut down for good. Can he fix this school like McKinley? Or is it already beyond help? SYOC!

So this first chapter in an introduction to the three characters that I have already created; Jada, Nevaeh, and Javon. I will have the SYOC form on my profile.

* * *

As with every chapter, I will have the cast list in the AN.

Zendaya Coleman as Jada De La Rosa  
 **Voice Claim:** Zendaya\Alessia Cara

Cara Delavigne as Nevaeh Ross  
 **Voice Claim:** Charli XCX/Macy Kate

Diggy Simmons as Javon Williams  
 **Voice Claim:** Diggy Simmons

Gabrielle Union as Principal Erica Williams

* * *

"Mr. Shuester?" Will looked up from the pictures that Emma had sent him and saw a woman coming towards him. She had brown skin that was more on the dark side and matching dark eyes. Her gray suit pants and white silk shirt told him that she was the principal. Most of the teachers he had passed had a more casual approach to apparel.

"Will, please." He held out his hand and she shook it when she got to him.

"I'm Principal Williams, but all the staff calls me Erica." She introduced. "I'm on my way to the cafeteria. Walk with me."

She left no room for refusal as she began walking down the hall, past the reception area, her black heels making a click clacking sound on the chipped tile.

"So," She began. "A lot of people told me the wonders you've done for McKinley High in Ohio. Namely, getting Sue Sylvester out of there." Erica shook her head. "The things I've heard about that woman are just...atrocious. I mean, fat shaming? Really?"

"Sue is...opinionated." Will said, refusing to bag on the woman he now considered family. "Plus, I've heard you've had your fair share of problems here."

Erica let out a soft scoff and pushed her black hair away from her face. "Yeah, but our problems are with our students, our neighborhood-" She looked back at Will as they walked. "But never the teachers. Everyone here is doing the best they can for these kids. I also doubt that you'll find the same problems with our students that you did with those at McKinley."

Will raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

They turned a corner and walked a bit more before the ended up in front of a set of double doors. He saw an identical pair about twenty feet away on the same wall. "The kids here aren't opposed to music." Erica explained. "Many of them aspire to be singers and rappers and dancers- plus, while there are the occasional cases of bullying and physical fights, we don't allow things such as slushy throwing."

"How can you possibly know I won't have the same problems here?" Will asked as he began to hear the sound of banging coming from the doors in front of him. "Most kids seem pretty opposed to music." Erica simply gave him a look before pushing open the two doors in front of them.

The cafeteria was large- not as big as McKinley's, but it was still large. There were twelve tables set up further in the room, they looked as if they bad been in rows of six, but someone had pushed two of them together to make a longer table and that's where a lot of the students sat.

On the long table stood two girls- one with dark brown hair and another with dirty blonde hair. Another girl sat on the table top, but her hair was stuffed into a black beanie. She, along with most of the other students, were banging on the tables to make a beat while the two girls standing were singing a Beyonce song.

"That's Jada De La Rosa." Erica said gesturing to the girl on the right; her dark brow hair was silky straight, flying everywhere as she moved, and her light brown skin was barley covered in fitted cropped black tank top and gray pleated harem pants she wore. "And that's Nevaeh Ross." She nodded at the girl on the left; her dirty blonde hair was braided into two boxer braids that were most likely elongated with extensions as they were over her shoulders and reached her waist. Her clothes were more tomboyish than her friends; a white T-shirt with a photo of Rihanna's face on it that was about five times too big for her thin frame and a pair of leggings that had a solid/sheer pattern going on. "They're usually the ones leading this little...musical every day."

"They do this everyday?" She nodded.

"Just about." Will turned his sights back on the girls.

" _I can do for you what Martin did for the people_." Jada sang with a little dance as the students continued banging on the tables. " _Ran by the men, but the women keep the tempo. It's very seldom that you're blessed to find your equal. Still play my part and let you take the lead role, believe me. I'll follow, this could be easy; I'll be the help whenever you need me. I see you hustle with my hustle, I can keep you focused on your focus, I can feed you-_ "

" _You need a real woman in your life._ "

" _That's a good look._ " Nevaeh cut in.

" _Takin' care of home and still fly!_ "

" _That's a good look._ "

" _I can help you build up your account_."

" _That's a good look, better yet a good. Ladies that's a good look, believe me!_ "

Erica looked at the impressed and astounded look on Will's face and couldn't help the smirk that made it's way onto her own.

"I told you." She reminded him. "They are only two of the many singers we have here."

"Singing for your friends in one thing." Will told her. "Singing for a group that has a reputation of a loser club is another thing entirely."

Erica shook her head. "Glee club is no different than choir or drama." She argued. "We have a waiting list for both and those kids will practically do anything for a chance to show off their talents and get discovered and once they find out about your other students and where they are now, they'll be flocking to you."

"My other students?" Will questioned.

"Mercedes Jones who is the opening act for the Beyonce concert that more than half of my students attended two weeks ago." Erica began. "Sam Evans who's face is on the bus that most of them ride everyday and Brittany Lopez who's makeup videos are trending on Twitter. You'll basically be their God." Erica looked back to the students and Will noticed the annoyed look that took over her face. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" Will followed her gaze to see that a boy who wore no shirt, a silver cross necklace and jeans that sagged a bit and showed his red boxers had climbed on the table and now stood in between the two girls. He had five separate tattoos on his arms and chest that Will couldn't make out.

" _I be the d-boy who infiltrated all the corporate dudes._ " He began rapping. " _They call shots, I call audibles. Jacob the jeweler, baubles, Lorraine Schwartz sorta dude. It's big balling baby when I'm courting you. I'm talking spy bags and fly pads and rooms at the Bloomberg and rumors you on the verge of a new merge 'cause that rock on ya finger is like a tumor. You can't fit ya hand in ya new purse._ "

" _It's humorous to me they watching and we just yachting off the island hopping off Amalfi coast. Mafioso, oh baby. You ever seen Saturn? No, not the car but everywhere we are you sure to see stars. This is high level not eye level. My bezzle courtesy of Audemars. I order yours tomorrow now look at the time I saved you, Mama let me upgrade you._ " He ended and threw one of his arms around Jada's shoulder.

"Okay!" Erica yelled and Will was surprised to hear her over the sound of the table banging. She started forward and he followed her. "That's enough." All of the students saw her and the result was instantaneous.

They all began to scatter to the other tables and the girl who had been sitting on the table quickly hopped off and followed the other students. Knowing they were caught, the ones who had been singing didn't even try to escape as she stopped a few feet away from their table.

"Jada De La Rosa, Nevaeh Ross and Javon Williams." Erica called loudly, crossing her arms. Will remembered that Erica's last name was Williams, but he didn't think much of it. Williams was a common last name. "My office, now!"

Jada smacked her lips "Man!" She groaned as she got down. Javon was tossed a white and red striped polo from one of the students at the other tables and quickly put in on as he and Nevaeh got down and followed Erica, who was already exiting the cafeteria.

Will followed the teens back to Erica's office and closed the door behind them. Erica sat behind her desk, but she didn't look angry at any of the teens. Only mildly annoyed.

"You all know I have no problem with your singing in the cafeteria." She informed them. While Will stood next to the door, the three teens sat in the chairs in front of her desk. Javon was in the middle while Jada and Nevaeh sat on either side of him. "But dancing on tables and removing your clothes will get you detention." Will noticed that she looked directly as Javon as she spoke.

"So, what?" Jada asked crossing her arms as she slouched in her chair. "You're gonna give up detention...again?" Erica sighed.

"No." She replied. "Instead, I've decided to do something productive with your...talents. Congratulations, you three are now, officially, the first members of Mr. Schuester's Glee club."

They didn't have the reaction that Will thought they would; he had expected immediate refusals and yelling about how they wouldn't join a 'loser club', but none of that happened.  
Instead, they were all quiet with slightly confused expressions on their faces. It wasn't until after a few moments that Nevaeh broke the silence.

"What the fuck is a Glee club?" Erica narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"Watch your mouth." She warned. "And a glee club is kind of like a choir, except they do covers of songs from the present and the past for competitions."

"And that's our punishment?" Javon asked, seemingly wary and suspicious. "No detention? No suspension? Erica shook her head.

"That's it." She confirmed. "And I'll even give you all an incentive; For every other person you get to join Mr. Schue's Glee club, I'll give the school another dance with a thousand dollar budget."

"Two thousand." Jada replied.

"One and a half." Erica negotiated. "And a lax dress code." Jada looked at Nevaeh and then Javon- both giving shrug- before she looked back to her principal and nodded.

"Fine." She said before looking to Mr. Schue. "But don't think we're gonna be singin' any fruity ass show tunes. We sing our music- none of that white people shit."

"Watch your mouth, Jada." Erica snapped gaining the teenagers attention. "Don't make me call your grandmother." She threatened and Jada narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything else. "Mr. Schue is your elder and you will give him as much respect as you'd give any other teacher here, if not more. And if he has to talk to me about any of your behavior, I'll suspend you for six months which will stop you from doing any of your school work causing you to repeat the tenth grade. Do I make myself clear?" None of them looked happy at the threat, but nodded anyway. "Now get to class."

Once the three were gone, Mr. Schue looked to Erica. "Can you really do that?" He questioned. "Suspend them for six months?"

"I can," She confirmed as she stood. "I would never do that, but they don't have to know that. Now don't you have a class to teach?"

* * *

I want you guys to know, that while this school is located in Miami's Ghetto, there are a multitude of different ethnicity there, but most of the OC's should be black. I'm not being racist, I am black and I've been to ten different schools since the third grade so don't think I don't know what I'm talking about. please don't be afraid to send me Asians, Caucasians, Hispanics or a smaller minority.

Okay guys, the form is on my profile. You can submit up to three OC's, but two of them must be opposite sexes. Also, please put some thought into your OCs. This is not first come, first serve; I will reject your OC if I think they're bad. Please label your submissions as followed:

(Ex.)  
Warriors - (Jada D.)


	2. Recruitment Pt One

_**So, so, so sorry for the late update; my computer broke, so the only time I have to type is at the library which is where I'm at now. Also, please note that if your characters are OOC, there's a reason for it.  
**_

* * *

CAST IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Zendaya Coleman as Jada De La Rosa  
 **Voice Claim:** Zendaya\Alessia Cara

Macy Kate as Nevaeh Ross  
 **Voice Claim:** Charli XCX/Macy Kate

Diggy Simmons as Javon Williams  
 **Voice Claim:** Diggy Simmons

Kat McNamara as Alisha Hill  
 **Voice Claim:** Chrissy Costanza/Sara Bareilles

Emeraude Toubia as Lainey Valentine  
 **Voice Claim:** Siren Gene

Martina Stoessel as Catalina Vargas  
 **Voice Claim:** Martina Stoessel

Luke Benward as Lucas Bond  
 **Voice Claim:** Nick Jonas/Machine Gun Kelly

Julia Barretto as Maddie Ning  
 **Voice Claim:** Natalie Valerin/J. Fla

Masahiro Higashide as Hiro Sato  
 **Voice Claim:** Jeremy McKinnon

Gabrielle Union as Principal Erica Williams

* * *

"How the hell are we supposed to get ten people to sign up?"

Only a day after getting their 'punishment' from Principal Williams, Jada and Nevaeh were in the cafeteria trying to figure out what to do. Jada had gone online for a Glee club to be able to compete in competitions they'd need at least thirteen members. They didn't all have to be on stage and sing, but they still had no idea how to get more people on board.

"Eight." Nevaeh corrected before taking a bite of her hot dog. The food at Crenshaw wasn't the best, but at least they didn't have to pay for it- not that they couldn't afford it. "Javon got Cory to join and Cory's asking his dude to join too."

"Theo?"

Nevaeh nodded. "We could always ask Lina to join, too." She suggested, but Jada shook her head.

"I don't know." She sighed. "You know she got two jobs and she watches her brother. She might be too busy."

"Won't know until you ask." The blonde pointed out. "You ask her later and I'll ask Callie." Nevaeh didn't even have to wait a second before Jada began protesting.

"No, no, no- hell no!" She practically shouted, but it was loud enough in the cafeteria with all the chatter that no one noticed. "You know I hate that bitch."

"I don't know why." Nevaeh replied honestly. "She's not that bad-"

"Tell that to Rhonda." Jada said. "You remember her right? Callie told her that her weave looked like a cheap wig and that's how we found out that Rhonda had cancer and went bald from chemo."

"She didn't mean it like that and she didn't say 'cheap'." Nevaeh reminded her friend. "You just like seeing the worst in people. If you actually tried to spend time with her, you'd know that she'd kind of cool. Plus, Rhonda got over the weave thing, so why can't you?"

Jada simply crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Callie's a bitch and I don't trust bitches because bitches spelled backwards is sehctib and that don't make no sense. Just like that bitch." And with that, Jada rose from her seat before grabbing her tray and walking away. Nevaeh sighed as she watched her go; Jada had always been a diva.

* * *

"Come on, we have to join at least one club." Lainey claimed as she looked over the numerous papers advertising the schools clubs. There was, surprisingly, a lot of options. "There's Student Government, Book Club, Soccer, Art Club-"

"Why am I signing up for a club again?" Alisha asked and Lainey sighed.

Alaina Valentine and Alisha Hill had been best friends since the latter of the two moved to Miami's 'ghetto' over five years ago. Despite the fact that their neighborhood and the surrounding ones housed plenty of lower class white people, Alisha still managed to stick out like a sore thumb with her long bright red hair and green eyes. Alaina had been the only person in sixth grade who would speak to her- Alaina being an outcast of a different kind with the burns on her body that she couldn't always hide.

Now, at the ages of fifteen and sixteen, Alisha and Lainey were in high school and still- more or less- outcasts. Not that they minded. Alisha was ridiculously shy and tended to keep to herself while Lainey was way too cynical and sarcastic for anyone to stand being around her for more than a few moments.

"Because you are too shy." Lainey claimed as her eyes continued to scan the board.

"No, I'm not." Alisha protested weakly and Lainey didn't even spare her a glance.

"Ali? You nearly had a heart attack when you thought you'd have to talk to the lunch lady. If I didn't know you, I'd say you had social anxiety." Lainey's hands went up and pulled down a flyer from the board. "How about choir? You love singing."

"My mom would have a nervous breakdown if she knew that I was in choir." Alisha reminded as she took the paper and pinned it back up. A throat cleared behind them and both Alisha and Lainey turned around to see Nevaeh Ross standing behind them. Nevaeh was one of those people who everyone knew the name of just because who she was as a person. Neither girl had actually ever talked to her, but they still knew her.

"Hi." She gave them a wide smile. "Do you want to sign up for a chance to win a twenty dollar gift card for McDonalds?"

"What's the catch?" Lainey asked immediately. Nevaeh shook her head.

"No catch." She claimed. "Just sign the paper." Lainey sighed as she took the clipboard and neatly wrote her name under the only other three that were on there before handing it to Alisha who did the same. Nevaeh smile when it was handed out to her. "Thank you and here you go." She said sticking a large yellow smiley face sticker on both of the girls shoulders. Then she noticed the small telltale bump of Lainey's pregnancy and stuck one on her stomach too. "Congratualations, you two are the newest members of Crenshaw's very own Glee club."

"Wait, what?!" Lainey demanded, but Nevaeh had already begun walking away. "You said there was no catch!"

"I lied." Nevaeh called back as she disappeared around the corner. Lainey growled a bit as she pulled the smiley face sticker off of her stomach and Alisha put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, you did say you wanted to join a club." She pointed out. She got a sticker to the face for her trouble.

* * *

"I don't know, Jay." Catalina said as she picked up a plate and slipped it into the tub under her arm. She moved on to the next table, but Jada just followed her.

School had only been out for an hour, but Jada knew where to find Catalina; Nevaeh's family owned a nice restaurant only a few blocks away where almost everyone in the surrounding blocks ate. Catalina was one of the waitresses there and she worked everyday for five hours after school.

"Lina, please." She begged. "You ain't even gotta show up or nothin'. Just sign your name on the sign up sheet and I'll explain to Mr. Schue that you can't audition right now. He'll understand." Catalina scoffed.

"I doubt he'll let me in just because my names on the sign up sheet."

"But that's the thing!" Jada said as she followed her friend past the counter and into the kitchen of the restaurant. If any of the other employees seemed to noticed, they didn't care. "He will! The thing on the paper literally says 'You're already accepted'. C'mon, please! You know if I don't get all the names I need, Erica is going to put me in detention for a month."

"Again?" Catalina asked as she put the tub of dishes next to the sink. Knowing that Jada wouldn't leave until she got the answer she wanted, Catalina sighed. "Alright. You can put my name down, but I'm not going to any of the meetings if they're at the same time as my shifts." Jada let out a breath of relief and pulled Catalina into a hug, ignoring the fact that she was getting all sorts of stains on her pants.

"Thank you, so much." Giving her friend a kiss on the cheek, Jada began making her way out of the kitchen. "You'll love it!" She called back. "I promise! Love ya, bae!" Unable to repress the smile on her face, Catalina shook her head and got back to work.

* * *

"Luke...Lucas!"

Pulling his headphones back, the blonde sitting on the bench in front of his locker looked over to see one of his teammates, Javon leaning against his own locker. He wore only a towel, showing off the three different tattoos on his torso.

"Yeah?"

"My girl, Jada, she got this thing she gotta do and I was wonderin' if you could help her out or something."

"What is it?" Lucas asked deciding not to jump to conclusions. The last thing he wanted was to get involved with something that would get him in trouble.

Javon pushed himself off the locker and sat down on the bench near Lucas. "There's this new club at the school, it's like a choir, but you gotta do competitions and shit. We gotta get, at least, thirteen people signed up. You want in?"

Lucas shook his head. "I don't know. Singing isn't really my thing."

"You ain't even gotta audition." Javon assured him. "Just show up to the meetings." Lucas was about to pass, but Javon put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm beggin', man. Do me this one favor and I got you."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You...got me? Got me for what."

"Whatever you need." What the hell? He and Javon were friends, plus he knew that his mother wanted him to get more involved in school. He had joined the photography club for that reason.

"Uh, sure. Where?"

"I'll get back to you on that." Javon told him before getting up from the bench and going back to his locker. Lucas couldn't help but feel like his life was going to change drastically...

Or something cliche like that.

* * *

"Hi, dad." Maddie greeted as she slid into the passenger seat of her family's Toyota. She immediately pulled on her seat belt, expecting her father to begin driving but the car stayed still. "Dad?" She looked over to see him staring at her with a sad expression on his face. " _Dō shimashita ka_?" She asked, wondering what was wrong. Realizing that he had been staring, her father shook his head.

"Nothing." He assured her. He went to put the car in drive, but Maddie stopped him by putting a hand on his.

"What's wrong?" She asked again.

"It's nothing." He claimed and she gave him a look. "You're here every day."

Maddie furrowed her eyebrows. "It's school, Dad." She reminded him. "I don't really have a choice."

Her father sighed. "I didn't mean it that way." He said. "I meant, you've been at this school for two months and you haven't joined anything clubs or-"

"I'm a mathlete, captain of the debate team and I tutor during study hall."

"Okay, those are academic clubs." He continued. "What about art club? The volleyball team- I'd even be happy if you joined the choir. You love to sing."

Maddie gave her father a look. "Mom would lose her head if I joined anything un-academic." She reminded. "I mean, I'd love to join choir or something, but mom-"

"Isn't the one who goes to school everyday." He finished and Maddie sighed. "I know that you don't mind SAT prep or mathletes, but I don't want your entire life to be you doing things that you don't mind doing. I want you to do something- at least one thing that you _want_ to do. Not me, not mom; you."

Maddie opened her mouth, completely intent on telling him what she thought he wanted to hear; that she liked Mathletes and debate; that she didn't want to join any other clubs; that she was completely and absolutely happy. She was ready to say all of these things, but then her eyes drifted past her father and out the window where a large bright sign caught her eyes.

 _GLEE CLUB SIGN UPS_ , it read in bright blue and yellow marker. _SING, DANCE, LIVE!_

"Where are you going?" Her dad asked as she unbuckled her seat belt and opened the car door.

"To do something I want." She told him before getting out of the car. Maddie's dad watched as she went around the front of the car and jogged over to the girl underneath the Glee Club sign. They talked for a few moments before Maddie signed her name on the girl's clipboard and came back to the car. When she got back inside, he noticed a yellow smiley face sticker on the front of her white button up. She buckled herself up and looked over to him when the car didn't start. "Happy?"

"Are you?"

Maddie thought for a moment. "...I'll tell you tomorrow."

* * *

"Can-Can you make the first cut...please?" Hiro looked over at his lab partner to see that her pale face had taken on a slightly green hue. He could tell that she was already dangerously close to being sick.

"Do you need to go to the nurse?" Alisha shook her head before she cleared her throat.

"I'm fine." She insisted. "I just, uh...why do we have to do this?" She asked looking down at the frog. The dreaded frog dissection was something every Sophomore class was required to do. There was always, at least, one student who puked or passed out each class and it seemed that Hiro's partner would be the unlucky one.

"Something about the furthering or science?" He guessed and she raised an eyebrow. "I, honestly, don't know." Noticing that the teacher was nearing them, Hiro quickly cut into the dead frog on the tray and the effect was instantaneous.

Not even a moment after his blade cut into the frog, murky grey liquid squirted out and hit Alisha straight in the face. "Oh, God!" She quickly tried to wipe it off, but only got even more disgusted when her hands touched it. "Oh, my Go-" She gagged and Hiro already knew what was going to happen.

"Out of the way!" He called as he grabbed Alisha and rushed her past their disgusted and humored classmates.

"Mr. Sato!" The teacher exclaimed, but Hiro ignored her as he rushed Alisha out of the classroom. He would rather deal with an angry teacher than a puddle of vomit that he'd, no doubt, be asked to clean up.

Thankfully, the nearest bathroom was only a few feet down the hall and Hiro didn't even care that he was barging into the girls bathroom. Luckily, no one was inside as he rushed Alisha into the nearest stall. She immediately fell down to her knees before she vomited into the toilet. Not wanting to leave her alone, Hiro pulled her head back and tentatively rubbed her back.

"I'm so sor-" Alisha began, but was interrupted by her own puking. Hiro patted her back hesitantly.

"It's...fine." He assured her. "I've got experience with stuff like this. Just...try not to talk or it'll be worse for us both." From the little bit of her face that he could see, Hiro could tell that she was going to try and speak again, so he just did the first thing that popped into his head; he sang.

" _Barcelona,_ " He sang softly. " _I still long to hold her once more, oh. My boots of leather from Europe, I gather you know...know. Every time you have to go, shut my eyes and you know; I'll be lying right by your side in Barcelona._ "

" _The native man sang in a foreign tongue. I still ache to know the song that he sung, Barcelona. Every time you have to go, shut my eyes and you know; I'll be lying right by your side in Barcelona. Every time you have to go, shut my eyes and you know; I'll be lying right by your side in Barcelona, oh...Barcelona, oh-oh...Barcelona, oh-oh-oh. Every time you have to go, shut my eyes and you know; I'll be lying right by your side in Barcelona._ "

It was long before the nurse found them and she and the security guard helped Alisha up- most likely being called by a teacher. The nurse insisted that Hiro go back to class, but he refused to leave Alisha; sure, it was mostly because he didn't want to go back to class, but he was worried about his lab partner at the same time.

Hiro was sitting at the nurses desk while Alisha lay on the cot; she had fallen asleep as soon as she had laid down, but Hiro couldn't blame her; she was on the smaller side, but she had thrown up more in the last half hour than he had in the past year.  
With nothing else better to do, Hiro was playing with one of the stress balls he had found on the nurses desk; tossing it up in the air and catching it which he had been doing for the past forty-five minutes. However, on one of his throws, he threw it too high and it hit the ceiling with a loud "Thunk", which woke Alisha.

"What's happening?" She asked sleepily as she rubbed at her eye and Hiro resisted the urge to hit himself.

"Nothing." He assured her as she turned on her side to face him. "I was, uh, messing around." He showed her the ball. "Threw it too high."

"Oh."

The two lapsed back into silence and Hiro went back to tossing the stress ball in the air. The long silence lasted until Alisha spoke minutes later.

"You have a nice voice," She commented and Hiro shrugged.

"...Thanks," He said eventually. "You too." Why would he say that?

Alisha seemed amused. "You've never heard me sing."

"Yeah, I know." He nodded. Hiro wasn't used to talking to people; he usually tended to avoid any person other than his uncle and sister. His Uncle Kaz was the only one who seemed to understood that Hiro didn't like talking and, instead, filled the silence himself. Hiro's little sister, Yukiko was a natural chatterbox so he probably wouldn't be able to get a word in if he tried. He had been meaning to work on that, though- his silence, not his sister's chattiness- at his uncles insistance. "Do you sing?"

Alisha shrugged. "I guess." Was her answer. Feeling an unfamiliar need to fill the silence, she continued. "I got tricked into joining this singing group, though."

"How'd that happen?"

"It just...did." She shrugged again. "I don't know if I'll actually go, though."

"You should." Alisha looked to Hiro in surprise. "We've sat next to each other every day since I transferred her and this is the most you've ever said. You're so quiet that, until Ms. Anderson asked you where the bathroom was, I didn't think you could talk."

Alisha tried not to blush. She was used to staying in the background- staying quiet. "Ditto."

"Yeah," He acknowledged. "Maybe I'll get tricked into that singing thing, too. Then I'll get to hear you sing." Alisha didn't know what to say to that. To be fair, she wasn't exactly sure about what was happening; Alaina was the only person that Alisha really spoke to, so she didn't know what to say or do next.

"...Maybe." Is what she felt comfortable with.

* * *

"So," Erica asked as she stepped next to Will. "How do you like it?"

Crenshaw Heights High School wasn't a poor school, but they didn't have a lot of money either, which meant that they didn't have any spare classrooms that could be used as a choir room. The actual choir practiced regularly in the music room, so Will had no choice but to build a choir room himself.

The room had been added to the first floor near the Spanish classroom and Will had only been able to spend a certain amount of money and that reflected in the room

All four walls were exposed brick with one or two large windows on each wall to let in natural light and the floor was a light gray tile. There were three exposed wooden beams on the high ceiling and there were two other doors in the room; one leading to a closet and the other to a private office for Will. Against the north wall were three wooden platforms that held twenty chairs. There were a couple different cabinets inside for storage and the piano and drum set had already been set up inside along with speakers and there were a few guitars (both acoustic and electric) leaning against the wall and more instruments and sound boards were still being delivered. It was simple...and amazing.

"It's perfect." Will told her honestly. "It's simple, functional and I think the kids are gonna love it."

"Speaking of kids," Erica began. "Have you gotten any members yet?" Will nodded.

"Surprisingly, yes." He pulled a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Erica. With raised eyebrows, she unfolded it. "Nevaeh gave it to me in class earlier. We don't have everyone we need, but we've got enough for now."

Erica looked at the names before looking up at Will. "This is...surprising."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I expected students like Theo and Darrel James, but Alaina Valentine? Alisha Hill? They're not exactly social butterflies- and Madoka Ning hasn't joined any club that's not focused on academics."

"I have no idea how Nevaeh and Jada got them to join." Will admitted. "I just know that they didn't hurt anyone."

"Well," Eric handed Will back his list. "Congratulation Mr. Schuester; you are now the proud coach of Crenshaw Height's Glee club. Now you just have one more thing to do."

Will raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?" Erica gave him a smile.

"Now you have to give them a name."


	3. Recruitment Pt Two

Zendaya as Jada De La Rosa.  
 **Voice Claim:** Zendaya/Alessia Cara

Diggy Simmons as Javon Williams.  
 **Voice Claim:** Diggy Simmons/Skizzy Mars

Macy Kate as Nevaeh Ross.  
 **Voice Claim:** Charli XCX/Macy Kate

Martina Stoessel as Catalina Mia Vargas.  
 **Voice Claim:** Martina Stoessel

Tristan Mays as Callie Campbell  
 **Voice Claim:** Camilla Cabello/Demi Lovato

Emeraude Toubia as Lainey Valentine  
 **Voice Claim:** Siren Gene

Luke Benward as Lucas Bond  
 **Voice Claim:** Nick Jonas/Machine Gun Kelly

Face Claim: Alex Pettyfer as Eddie Deeming  
 **Voice Claim:** Harry styles/Caleb Followill.

Katherine McNamara as Alisha Hill  
 **Voice Claim:** Chrissy Costanza/Sara Bareilles

Jacob Latimore as Corbin Alexander  
 **Voice Claim:** Jacob Latimore/Roshon Feagan

Jessica Jarell as Tasha Norris  
 **Voice Claim:** Jessica Jarell

Jordan Fisher as Adande Johnson  
 **Voice Claim:** Lloyd/Jordan Fisher

Trevor Jackson as Theo James  
 **Voice Claim:** Bruno Mars/Jason Derulo

Tyler James Williams as Darrel James  
 **Voice Claim:** Tyler James Williams/Usher

Masahiro Higashide as Hiro Sato  
 **Voice Claim:** Jeremy McKinnon

Julia Barretto as Madoka Ning  
 **Voice Claim:** Natalie Valerin/Snow Tha Product

Gabrielle Union as Principal Erica Williams

* * *

 **Chapter Songs**  
Aint Your Mama - Jennifer Lopez  
A Tribe Called Red - Angel Haze

* * *

"Adande, we gotta go." Corbin called as he pulled on his shoes.

"I'm comin'!" He heard his cousin yell back and Corbin rolled his eyes.

"Liar!" Corbin heard his younger cousin yell. "He's playing with this camera!"

"Shut up, Destiny." Corbin stood up just to see his cousin, Adande, come out from his bedroom with his younger sister Destiny hot on his heels. As usual, Adande had his video camera in his hand and Corbin was sure that his regular camera was in his messenger bag. "I'm ready."

"Took you long enough." Adande rolled his eyes and leaned down to return the hug that Destiny was giving him. "Be good." Corbin told her as Adande went out the door. Destiny ran over and gave Corbin his own hug. "Your mom and mine'll be home in a couple of minutes. You can be chill 'til they get back, right?" Destiny nodded. "Alright. You better make sure Troy behaves or nobody'll let you stay home alone again." Locking the door behind him, Corbin left the apartment and went down the stairs that led down to the side of the building where Adande was waiting near the trash cans. "I still can't believe you got us roped into this, dude."

Corbin was, by no means, a shy person- in fact, he was the most talkative person wherever he was, usually- and he was always up for whatever Adande wanted to do; heading into the inner city and doing the color run, trying octopus at the Asian fusion buffet downtown- hell, they even went swimming in the ocean in the middle of winter. Anything Adande wanted to do just so he could film it, Corbin had no problem with.

That was before he found out that Adande had signed them up for the new Glee club at school.

It wasn't that Corbin hated singing, it's was just that he preferred dancing to just about anything else. He was sure that there wouldn't be any room in a singing group for him.

"It isn't just about singing." His cousin had insisted. "We both know that performing is, like, fifty percent dancing, forty percent energy and confidence and, like, ten percent singing. We've both seen Rihanna in concert; she was terrible, but everyone still started actin' like fools like she was Jesus or something."

"Whatever," Corbin scoffed. "We both know that you only signed up because Tasha did." Tasha Norris was a girl in their class- if you could call her a girl; with the way she looked, you'd think she was a grown woman; usually a full face of makeup, tight close, and a very...free nature when it came to her body. Adande had been after her since the first time they saw her back when they were only nine years old and Tasha had a flat chest with a binder covered in Lisa Frank stickers and a backpack full of Junie B. Jones books.

So that's why Corbin and Adande were on their way to a party nine blocks away; Jada De La Rosa, a sort-of friend to Adande's, had been tasked with finding members for the Glee club instead of getting suspended again and, now that she had the required thirteen members and then some, she wanted them all to meet up and introduce themselves. Somehow she had figured that a part would be the best way to do just that.

Jada's house was just the sort of house you expected a family like hers to live in; the house was three stories high ( most likely to fit the eight other children that belonged to Jada's father, Hector) and looked to be made out of clay with a Spanish tile roof. The front door and garage door seemed to be made from the same dark wood and the windows were long and had designs on the them The pathway to the front door and the driveway were both made from faded bricks. There was a small front lawn to the right with a strip of grass and plants between the walkway and the driveway, which is where the mailbox sat. The other houses in the neighborhood were also in a similar Spanish style, but were a lot smaller than Jada's.

There were a couple of cars parked on the curb in front of the house, one in the driveway that Adande recognized as Jada's Dodge Durango and a couple of bikes on the side of the garage. Dozens of teenagers spilled out of the front door and onto the front lawn with red solo cups and loud music came from the open door of the house. There were also people sitting on cars and the roof of the house.

"I still can't believe you wanted to come here." Corbin sighed and looked to Adande, only to find that his cousin was already gone. Figuring that he went into the house, Corbin went inside.

The inside of Jada's house was what'd Corbin would most likely find if he googled 'Spanish Villa interior' with off white walls, tile floors, wooden furniture and bright reds, whites and other colors that decorated the paintings on the walls and the pillows on the couches.

As many people as there were outside, there had to be twice as many inside; they stood around and danced, sat on couches and even trailed up the stairs. The music was so loud that Corbin could barely understand the lyrics.

Scanning the room with his eyes, Corbin immediately found his cousin talking to the object of his affections, Tasha. Compared to what she was wearing now, the outfits she wore to school didn't do her justice; a pale bluish-purple bikini clung tightly to her curvy body with three different straps on her hips that showed the skin in between and a top with three thinner straps crossing over the top of her stomach, making an X. Her long hair had been straightened probably, Corbin couldn't tell whether she had straightened it beforehand or had its large waves been washed away by the dip she had obviously taken in the pool.

"I didn't think you'd actually show up." Corbin turned around to see Jada's best friend, Nevaeh.

"I didn't even know I was coming." Corbin told her, his eyes scanning the leather bralette and silver sequin skirt she wore. "Adande literally told me that we were coming an hour before we got here."

"Well, I'm glad you're here." She smiled at him and his eyes narrowed a bit when he saw the red cup in her hand.

"Are you drunk?" She immediately shook her head. "You do remember I'm gay, right? Like, super gay."

"Yup.' She said, popping the 'p'. "But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view." She walked away with a grin and Corbin rolled his eyes. Nevaeh Ross had been trying to get into his pants since the beginning of Freshman year. She fully understood that Corbin was gay, but still tried anyway. Corbin didn't mind though, she was just having fun and it wasn't as if either of them were getting hurt or any unrealistic expectations.

The party went on for a another hour or two before anything of real importance happened.

Corbin was still in the living room, but it seemed that everyone from the party managed to make their way there too, making for a cramped space.

"Everybody!" Jada yelled. She stood on the coffee table, putting her a foot or two higher than everyone else. Adande seemed to come out from nowhere as he appeared at Corbin's side, video camera on and in hand. Corbin's eyes was pulled away, seeing movement in the corner of his eye. On a small chest that sat in the corner of the room, he saw Tasha as Javon, Jada's boyfriend, setting up sound equipment. "Everybody!" Jada yelled again, but only a few people seemed to hear that. Realizing that no one was listening, Nevaeh passed her cup to the person on her right before getting up on the table next to her friend.

"EVERYBODY, SHUT THE HELL UP!" She practically screamed causing everyone to take notice. Whoever was near the radio had the good sense turn it down as everyone gave their attention to the two girls. "That's better."

"Thanks, Veah." Jada smiled before looking out to everyone. "Alright, guys. You all know exactly why you're here; because of our little lunchroom singing session, Principal Williams nearly suspended me, Veah, and Javon. Instead, she made us join and get a bunch of other people for from shit Glee club. Since none of you morons would join," She said accusingly. "I had to reach out to other people, so..." From the back pocket of her leather pants, Jada produced a piece of folded up paper. Unfolding it, she cleared her throat. "Madoka Ning," She began. "Darrel and Theo James, Adande Johnson, Tasha Norris, Corbin Alexander, Alisha Hill, Lucas Bond, Alaina Valentine, Catalina Vargas and..." She let out an annoyed breath. "...Callie Campbell. Thank you all for growing some balls and helping me out. But, now it's time to see what you're actually made of." Looking to Tasha who was now knelt behind the chest with headphones on her head, Jada nodded at her.

Pressing only a few buttons on her laptop, a very familiar beat started playing. "But first," Jada began as her friend, Catalina pushed her way through the crowd to stand in front of the coffee table, facing the crowd wearing a cropped festival crop top, brown boots and a cargo pants-like maxi skirt. "Me and my fam got something to show you all."

" _I ain't gon' be cooking all day, I ain't your mama._ " Callie sang. " _I ain't gon' do your laundry, I ain't your mama. I ain't your mama, boy, I ain't your mama. When you're gon' get your act together? I ain't your mama._ "

" _No-ooooh, I ain't your mama-_ " All three girls sang together. " _No-ooooh, I ain't your mama, no._ "

" _Wake up, and rise and shine_ ," Jada sang as she stepped down from the table.

" _Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah._ " Callie and Nevaeh chorused as the latter of the two jumped down from the table and stood behind Jada on the right with Callie on her right.

" _Let's get to work on time,_ "

" _Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah._ "

" _No more playing video games,_ "

" _Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah._ "

" _Things are about to change, 'round here, 'round here_ " Jada continued slowly swinging her hips as Nevaeh and Callie harmonized behind her. " _We used to be crazy in love, can we go back to how it was? When did you get too comfortable? Cause I'm too good for that, I'm too good for that-_ " The three girls stopped on the ground with their feet with each beat pulse as Jada and Callie switched places. " _Just remember that- hey!_ "

" _I ain't gon' be cooking all day,_ " Callie sang as the three followed a simple dance routine of side stepping, shaking hips and windmill arms. "I _ain't your mama. I ain't gon' do your laundry, I ain't your mama. I ain't your mama, boy, I ain't your mama. When you're gon' get your act together? I ain't your mama-_ "

" _No-ooooh, I ain't your mama-_ " All three girls sang together. " _No-ooooh, I ain't your mama, no_."

" _Lucky to have these curves,_ " Nevaeh continued as Callie moved to the side so her place in the middle opened up.

" _Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah._ "

" _Stop getting on my nerves_ ,"

" _Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah._ "

Nevaeh slowly melted into the floor, running a hand down her leg. " _You still tryna ride this train?_ "

" _Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah_."

" _Some things have got change, 'round here, 'round here_ " Nevaeh picked herself up and Callie and Jada moved closer. " _We used to be crazy in love. Can we go back to how it was? When did you get too comfortable? Cause I'm too good for that, I'm too good for that- Just remember that- hey!"_

" _I ain't gon' be cooking all day, I ain't your mama._ " Callie and Jada sang.

" _I ain't your mama, no-_ " Nevaeh added.

" _I ain't gon' do your laundry, I ain't your mama-_ "

" _I ain't your mama, hey!_ "

 _"I ain't your mama, boy, I ain't your mama."_

 _"I ain't your mama!_ " Nevaeh sang.

" _When you're gon' get your act together? I ain't your mama-_ "

" _I ain't your mama-_ "

"N _o-ooooh, I ain't your mama,_ " The three sang with Nevaeh's voice standing out the most. " _No-ooooh, I ain't your mama, no._ "

" _I ain't your mama, no..._ " Nevaeh sang as she stepped to the side. Jada stood in the middle, the three girls ridiculously close as they leaned back and against each other, making sweeping arm movements.

" _We used to be crazy in love,"_ Jada sang alone. " _Can we go back to how it was? When did you get too comfortable? Cause I'm too good for that, I'm too good for that- Just remember that- hey!_ " Splitting apart, the three went into a fast dance routine that Corbin recognized as a Ball Change Cross; moving the right foot across the left, stepping back just a fraction to keep the footing and then doing the same in reverse..

 _I ain't gon' be cooking all day, I ain't your mama._ "

" _I ain't your mama!_ " Nevaeh sang."

" _I ain't gon' do your laundry, I ain't your mama._ "

" _I ain't your mama!_ "

" _I ain't your mama, boy-_ "

" _No, no, no._ "

" _I ain't your mama, boy-_ "

" _No, no_ "

" _When you're gon' get your act together-_ "

" _Cause I ain't your mama_ ," Nevaeh continued. " _Hey_!"

" _I ain't gon' be cooking all day, I ain't your mama._ " The three sang again, wagging their arms (one behind their head and one in front) as they moved their hips. As a dancer, Corbin was appalled, but the song was good. " _I ain't gon' do your laundry, I ain't your mama-_ "

" _I ain't your mama- hey!_ " Nevaeh's voice stood out once again.

" _I ain't your mama, boy-_ "

" _Na, na, na._ "

" _I ain't your mama-"_

 _"Na, na, na."_

 _"When you're gon' get your act together? No, I ain't your mama, no!_ " They all sang together switching to a stomping swinging move. " _No-ooooh, I ain't your mama. No-ooooh, I ain't your mama. No-ooooh, I ain't your mama. No-ooooh, I ain't your mama, no."_

The girls got loud cheers for their performance and Corbin found himself clapping too. Next to him, Adande yelled out his praise, but didn't take his eyes off of his camcorder. Taking each others hands- with Neveah in the middle to act as a buffer between the other two- and bowed. As the crowed continued to cheer, Jada broke away to her boyfriend and Nevaeh went straight for Corbin.

"Nice song." He complimented and she tipped her imaginary hat at him.

"You know, you could do something." She nodded towards Tasha who stood behind her sound equipment talking to an Asian girl that Corbin was sure was in his Algebra class.

"I'm good." She shrugged just as Tasha called her over.

"Suit yourself," She said backing away. "I got to go." Corbin watched as Nevaeh went over to Tasha and the other girl who seemed to be having a disagreement. There was a lot of head shaking and gesturing towards the laptop perched on Tasha's equipment.

"What do you think they're arguing about?" Adande asked and Corbin saw Tasha press a button on her laptop, which started the beginning of a song. No one had been expecting it, but it had their attention- something Corbin was sure the nameless girl was trying to avoid.

"I think we're about to find out."

Adande and Corbin moved closer just in time to hear Tasha say; "If you don't sing, I'll have started this song for nothing and everyone's gonna think I'm stupid. You really want that Maddie?" She was absolutely exaggerating, but it seemed to work on the girl who sighed.

"Wait, is she really about to sing to this?" Adande asked and Corbin raised an eyebrow.

"I guess so, why?"

"Because this is Angel Haze." Adande pointed out, but just got a confused look from his cousin. "She's a rapper. Does she look like a rapper to you?" No, the small Asian girl in the red dress did not look like a rapper. Corbin opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off when the girl opened her mouth.

" _Back in the booth let the tragedy in. Switched up the team, let the magic begin- Told all you haters, I'm in it to win way back when them losers wasn't letting me in. All of these bitches is mad at me, so? Money appeared now they magically fo'. Honestly really can't pay it no mind because spending that time means I'd rather be broke. I'm out here living my passions and more, witnessing peace as it pass through my soul; Nothing can irritate masses like literally showing them stagnance can turn into growth. Haters gonna hate when you winning and shit. Done for these bitches, they tend to forget. I'm out here yelling 'bitch, look at me now!' I was underground, now I'm stuck in the clouds. Fourteen whole hours, a trip out to Spain; High in the clouds, bitch I'm gulping the rain. Just a year later still fucking these haters while facing my fears, no more running from pain. Head is on straight so I'm gunning with aim; no more fucking with bitches who stunting for fame. You can catch me out roofless in something deranged- Ain't it funny how suddenly something can change?_ " She stopped to take a breath and everyone seemed frozen in shock from what had just come from the small girl's mouth. It was only a second later that people seemed to get with the program and started shouting.

"Well," Corbin looked to Adande. "She sounds like one."

" _Don't give up_!" Tasha and Nevaeh sang from the sound system.

" _You gotta make a decision to be the one difference in your life and turn it around._ "

" _Don't give up!_ "

" _Turn it around, turn it around- Even when you feel you dumming it down_."

" _Back when the preacher said change is to come,"_ Adande raised his camera again and Corbin could tell that the girl, Maddie he thought her names was, we getting a little more confident as she walked through the group of people who crowded around her and they easily made way. " _All nonbelievers prepare to be sonned. Not talking Jesus but honest to God, I bet I reach my prime before air leaves my lungs_." Tasha and Nevaeh pushed her sound equipment after Maddie, trailing after her as every followed the girl into the dining room. " _Switched it up bitches, adjusted my flow. Go against me and get wrecked from the go. All of you bitches keep taking your shots, but if one come at me, then it's straight for your throat!_ " She made a slicing motion across her neck as she hopped up on the dining room table. " _Harder than nipples on bitches aroused, deity swag and omnipotent style. Don't fuck with my bread and don't fuck with my head 'cause if it get to that point then I'm seriously vile! Promise you people that evil's alive, wish you could see what I see with my eyes; All of the demons that be in mind, so I burned all my bridges and cut all my ties._ "

" _Said I would do this back when I was nine; Said I would do this before I got signed; Said I would give all these lost kids and doubters a reason and purpose to question their lives. Look where I am and then look where I've been_ ," She rapped, making wild arm gestures. " _Tell me that I am not destined to win. Never give power to none of you cowards to tell me what you think my destiny is_."

" _Don't give up_!" Tasha and Nevaeh sang from where the sound system was settled near the table and a lot of the crowd joined in.

" _You gotta make a decision to be the one difference in your life and turn it around._ "

" _Don't give up!_ "

" _Turn it around, turn it around- Even when you feel you dummin' it down_."

" _Don't give up_!"

" _You gotta make a decision to be the one difference in your life and turn it around._ "

" _Don't give up!_ "

" _Turn it around, turn it around- Even when you feel you dummin' it down_." Turning her body, a hand reached out and Maddie took it before standing up on the table. " _Gone for a minute but back on my grind. Promise you you are no match for my mind. Took all my doubt, whipped it into submission, and forced my ambition to step into line. I know that they do not want me to shine; I know that they do not want me to climb; I know inside that being a boss means making these bitches get back on their jobs- Can anyone fuck with me now?; No. How do these bitches respond; Don't. Looking behind to seeing me now, what do they think I'm beyond? Dope. I've just be taking my time, slow. Being alone in my mind, flow. Putting the contents of all that's inside me into this shit I'm designed for."_

 _"Crossover, pivot, I'm back in the game. NASCAR on bitches, I'm tracking my lane. Focused on bridging the gap and showing the youth all the ways to accomplish their dreams. Know how it feels when they kicking you down_ ," She let herself take a few deep breaths as the song slowed down. " _And it's getting you down. You gotta make the decision to be the one difference in your life and turn it around_."

" _Turn it around, turn it around- Even when you feel you dummin' it down. I know it's hard to be adamant, too, when you stand out like a sore thumb in the crowd. No sucka's and bitches and quitters allowed. Ball inside you until the survival of your dreams until you are living them out_."

Everyone clapped and Corbin found himself with them, laughing with Adande as Maddie gave a little curtsy. Tasha climbed up on the table, pulling her friend in a hug.

"Does she look like a rapper to you?" Corbin asked Adande who rolled his eyes. Suddenly, he didn't feel like this Glee club thing would be such a travesty anymore.

* * *

That Monday, instead of their fifth period classes, the fifteen students that made up most of the Glee club found themselves in the newly made choir room where Mr. Schue was already waiting for them with one other person in the room.

"Please, everyone," Will started as they crowded into the room. "Find a seat."

"Who's the Lone Ranger?" Lainey asked as she and Alisha took seats in the front row. A guy around their age in a pair of ripped jeans and a hoodie that covered his head sat in the upper back row.

"This is Edward Deeming." Will introduced before looking to the boy. "Eddie, can you please take off your hoodie?" A sigh was heard before Eddie pulled down his hoodie, revealing his short blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Damn," Jada grinned and Javon looked at her.

"Excuse you?" Jada was saved from the argument when a knock sounded and everyone looked to the door to see an Asian boy with short black hair standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, I'm late." He apologized, his eyes immediately finding Alisha and Lainey noticed.

"It's fine, Hiro." Will assured him. "Come take a seat." Hiro walked into the room and felt all eyes on him as he sat down in the front row between Alisha and Tasha. "Uh," Will cleared his throat. "Now that you're all seated, I think now would be a good time for introductions. I'll start." He told them. "I'm William Schuester, but all my students call me Mr. Schue. I've been teaching for about about twelve years now and I've taught three different Glee clubs, some of my old students are people you might know like Sam Evans, Artie Abrams, Mercedes Jones- maybe even Santana Lopez."

"You taught Mercedes Jones?" Jada asked with a voice full of doubt. "She was just featured in a Beyonce video."

"Santana Lopez was in the new Tyler Perry play." Theo pointed out. "I just saw it yesterday."

"Yes, they were both students of mine." Will nodded. "And they sang together plenty of times in our old choir room in Ohio. Now," He looked to Lainey. "Why don't you start with introductions?"

She sighed. He would pick her first. "Uh, I'm Lainey and this is Alisha." She nodded her head towards her bright haired friend. "I guess...I can play the piano and she can play the guitar."

Hiro was next. "I'm Hiroyuki, but every calls be Hiro. I'm captain of the soccer team."

"I'm Tasha." She waved a bit. "And I'm a DJ."

"I'm Madoka." Maddie introduced. "But I go by Maddie when my mom's not around. I guess I like music." Tasha cut in.

"She's humble." She told the group. "Girl's a straight up rapper." Will looked surprised, but no one could blame him. He looked to the next person for introductions.

"I'm Corbin," He introduced himself before looking to his cousin who wasn't paying attention and just fiddling with his camera. "And this is my boyfriend Adande." His cousin's head shot straight up at that. Jada and Nevaeh snorted those who knew him couldn't help but find humor in his reaction.

"What?" He demanded before looking around at the others as they snickered and laughed, his eyes settling on Mr. Schue. "I don't know him." He deadpanned. Corbin smacked him on the shoulder and the girls couldn't help but continue their laughing as Adande switched places with Nevaeh- not that he told her. She barely moved over into his empty seat before he sat down on her.

"We're cousins." Corbin cleared up for his teacher. Will looked to the next row to Jada who scoffed.

"Everyone already know who I am." She told him, flipping her long hair over her bare shoulder. Nevaeh rolled her eyes.

"You is too extra," Jada flipped her friend off, stretching her arm across Adande's face to put her hand right in Nevaeh's. The blonde slapped it down. "I'm Nevaeh and that's Jada." She introduced. "Our friend Lina is signed up too, but she had to work."

"That's fine." Will assured her.

"I'm Javon," Jada's boyfriend introduce himself before pointing to the third row where Lucas had chose to sit with Eddie. "This my boy Luke, but he ain't a talker." Lucas nodded as a greeting. That left only two other students; both were black, one with a short cut hair and the other wore a grey beanie. The second boy was taller than the first and more muscular.

"I'm Theo, but everybody calls me TJ." The taller one introduced before putting his arm around the other and pulling him close. "This is my brother Darrel."

"Well, it's nice to meet you all." Mr. Schue smiled at them. "And I look forward to meeting Lina if she can make it next time. Seeing as this is my first time working with you all, I want to see what you can do. Normally, I would have a week long lesson for you guys, but I thought I'd have more time. Principal Williams did warn me that I'd have a club faster than I usually do, but I didn't listen. So this week you all are just gonna show me what I have to work with. Uh," He mentally counted. "We've got sixteen members and four more days in the week, so we'll do four people a day starting tomorrow."

"We can start today," Nevaeh interrupted, surprising him.

"Uh, if that's alright with all of you?" Everyone gave sounds and words of agreement so Will went with it. "Alright, who's first?"


	4. That's What I Like

**Just so you all know, while each person in Glee club will be singing, they won't all do it for Mr. Schue. If they sing in the chapter, it counts as them showing what they got. Doesn't matter if only one person is there listening or no one.**

* * *

Zendaya as Jada De La Rosa  
 **Voice Claim:** Zendaya/Alessia Cara

Diggy Simmons as Javon Williams  
 **Voice Claim:** Diggy Simmons/Skizzy Mars

Macy Kate as Nevaeh Ross  
 **Voice Claim:** Charli XCX/Macy Kate

Martina Stoessel as Catalina Mia Vargas  
 **Voice Claim:** Martina Stoessel

Tristan Mays as Callie Campbell  
 **Voice Claim:** Camilla Cabello/Demi Lovato

Emeraude Toubia as Lainey Valentine  
 **Voice Claim:** Siren Gene

Luke Benward as Lucas Bond  
 **Voice Claim:** Nick Jonas/Machine Gun Kelly

Face Claim: Alex Pettyfer as Eddie Deeming  
 **Voice Claim:** Harry styles/Caleb Followill

Katherine McNamara as Alisha Hill  
 **Voice Claim:** Chrissy Costanza/Sara Bareilles

Jacob Latimore as Corbin Alexander  
 **Voice Claim:** Jacob Latimore/Roshon Feagan

Jessica Jarell as Tasha Norris  
 **Voice Claim:** Jessica Jarell/Eryn Allen Kane

Jordan Fisher as Adande Johnson  
 **Voice Claim:** Lloyd/Jordan Fisher

Trevor Jackson as Theo James  
 **Voice Claim:** Bruno Mars/Jason Derulo

Tyler James Williams as Darrel James  
 **Voice Claim:** Tyler James Williams/Usher

Masahiro Higashide as Hiro Sato  
 **Voice Claim:** Brendon Urie

Julia Barretto as Madoka Ning  
 **Voice Claim:** Natalie Valerin/Snow Tha Product

Gabrielle Union as Principal Erica Williams

* * *

 **Chapter Songs**

That's What I Like - Bruno Mars (Macy Kate Cover)  
I Can Only - JoJo ft. Alessia Cara  
The Middle - Jimmy Eat World (Kina Grannis Cover)

* * *

"Alright, who's first?" Will asked and Nevaeh raised her hand, not waiting for an objection as she leaned forward and whispered something into Tasha's ear. Deeming herself the official DJ, Tasha made her way over to the music equipment and Nevaeh stood in the middle of the room. Will recognized the song as soon as the music started.

" _Ohh,_ " She vocalized. " _I got a condo in Manhattan. Baby girl, what's hap'nin? You and your ass invited, so gon' and get to clappin'. So pop it for a fan- Pop, pop it for me. Turn around and drop it for a fan- Drop, drop it for me._ " She turned around and dropped down into a quick squat before rising back up. Quite a few of the high schoolers let out noises of approval while Will simply wondered how someone could stay balanced in such high hels.

" _I'll rent a beach house in Miami; wake up with no jammies. Lobster tail for dinner- Julio serve that scampi. You got it if you want it- got, got it if you want it. Said you got it if you want it; Take my wallet if you want it now. Jump in the Cadillac, girl, let's put some miles on it. Anything you want, just to put a smile on it; You deserve it baby, you deserve it all and I'm gonna give it to you!_ " She belted out and Jada called out her approval.

" _Gold jewelry shining so bright, strawberry champagne on ice. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like. Lucky for you that's what I like- that's what I like. Sex by the fire at night, silk sheets and diamonds, all white. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like._ " Walking forward she made her way back up to the second row and sat down in her seat before leaning onto Corbin.

" _I'm talkin' trips to Puerto Rico; say the word and we go. You can be my freaka, girl, I'll be a fleeko, mamacita. I will never make a promise that I can't keep!_ " She belted to him but he just continued looking forward with an amused look on his face. " _I promise that your smile ain't gon' never leave! Shopping sprees in Paris; Everything 24 karats. Take a look in that mirror, tell me who's the fairest. Is it you? Is it me? Say it's us and I'll agree, baby_." She threw her arm around his shoulders.

" _Jump in the Cadillac, girl, let's put some miles on it. Anything you want, just to put a smile on it; You deserve it baby, you deserve it all and I'm gonna give it to you!_ " She quickly kissed him on the cheek, leaving behind red lipstick marks before getting up. " _Gold jewelry shining so bright, strawberry champagne on ice. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like. Sex by the fire at night, silk sheets and diamonds, all white. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like._ "

" _They you say you want a good time,_ " She sang, walking behind her best friend and wrapping her into a hug. " _Well, here I am baby- here I am baby. Talk to me, talk to me, talk to me, tell me what's on your mind. If you want it, girl come and get it; All this is here for you. Tell me, baby- tell me, tell me, baby, what you tryna do?_ "

Letting go of Jada, she made her way back to the floor. " _Gold jewelry shining...strawberry champagne on ice. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like. Sex by the fire at night, silk sheets and diamonds all white. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like. Lucky for you, that's what I like- that's what I like._ " Two beats ended the song and everyone began clapping and hollering. Coming out from behind the equipment, Tasha was forced into a dual bow with Nevaeh.

Will clapped. "That was great, Nevaeh." He praised. "If any of you are half as good as that, I'd say we have a real chance at placing at Sectionals this year."

* * *

"How come you weren't in the choir room this morning?" Jada asked immediately as she sat down across from Callie in the library.

Looking up from her book, Callie expected to find Nevaeh, as she was always nearby whenever Jada decided to grace Callie with her presence, but she was surprised to see that the blonde wasn't around. "I was late," She answered warily. She wasn't afraid of Jada, she was just resigned to fact that the girl hated her and didn't trust her- not that Callie trusted her either. "I had to take my little sister to school. Why?"

"Because everyone was there except you...and Lina, but she was working so she has an excuse-" Jada pointed out before stopping herself mid-sentence. Callie knew she wasn't to say something, no doubt, mean. "I didn't come here to argue. All I wanted to tell you is that Mr. Schue is gettin' everybody to sing and shit so he can see how good we are. Maddie made a schedule-"

"Who?" Jada clenched her jaw, but said nothing about being interrupted.

"Maddie," She repeated. "She's in glee club." _You'd know that if you bothered to show up,_ Jada thought. "Veah already went today and Lina's gonna go later today since she probably won't be at school tomorrow since she gotta work. Maddie put you in for Wednesday, but she said we can all go whenever we want if we feel like it."

"Then what was the point of the schedule?" Callie asked and Jada rolled her eyes.

"She was being nice," She said. "You should try it sometime." She moved to stand up, but Callie stopped her.

"When are you gonna stop being a little bitch about what happened?" She asked. "It happened- it's over with, so why are you still pissed?"

"Because it's not something you get over," Jada pointed out. "We were friends- we're not anymore, so why don't you just stop bringin' it up?" She asked before getting up from the table and leaving, almost knocking into Tasha who was passing their table. They both watched at Jada left and, once she was out of earshot, Tasha looked to Callie.

"What'd you do to piss her off?"

"Would you believe me if I said nothing?" Tasha quirked an eyebrow and Callie nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't either."

Tasha put down the book she was holding and sat down in Jada's abandoned seat. "I could'a sworn that ya'll was friends in the eighth grade."

"Then ninth grade came around and things happened."

"What kind of things?" Now it was Callie's turn to quirk an eyebrow.

"No offense, but I don't you well enough to start blabbing all my deep dark secrets." Tasha nodded.

"Understood," She assured. It was quiet for a moment as Callie went back to reading her book. "What if I guess?"

"Go for it." Callie insisted and Tasha thought for a second.

"Did you sleep with her man?" She asked and Callie stilled. "Oh, my God! You did!" Immediately she was shushed by just about everyone in the library. "Sorry!" She apologized in a whisper.

"How the hell did you-"

"I've known Jada De La Rosa since we were in third grade," Tasha pointed out. "There are only three ways to get to her; her brothers, her friends, and her man. You an Nevaeh seem cool and I wouldn't even know where to start with her brothers- there's like ten-"

"Eight," Callie corrected.

"So that left her boo." Tasha continued. "I can't believe you slept with Javon-"

"I was drunk," She immediately defended. "I was fourteen and stupid. I didn't even know what I did until I woke up. Jada's been pissed at me ever since."

"Well, I can't blame her," Tasha said and Callie's rose slightly in agreement. "But I can't help but feel like she's pissed at the wrong person."

Callie shrugged. "It is what it is. I can't make her not hate me because that means that she'll be pissed at Javon and he's too much of a little bitch to let go of his cash cow-"

"That's not fair," Tasha cut in. "He loves her."

"Does he?" Callie asked. "Because, if he did love her, he wouldn't have convinced her to throw me away like trash like the basic bitch I was- his words, not mine."

"Have you even tried getting back on her good side?" Tasha asked.

"I've already apologized," Callie reminded. "Can't really do anything else." Suddenly, Callie's phone vibrated and she picked it up and quickly read the message she'd been sent. "I gotta go."

Tasha's eyebrows furrowed. "Where?" She asked. "It's only twelve."

"My sister bit another kid at daycare and my Abuela needs me to pick her up." Callie began packing up her things. "I'll try to make it back before next period."

"Do you even have a car?"

"No, but I'll take the bus-"

"Absolutely not!" Tasha was shushed but ignored it as she stood. "No friend of mine is gonna take the bus." She grabbed Callie's floral backpack back before she could do it herself. "C'mon, I'll give you a ride." Then she walked off without giving Callie another say in the matter.

"Friend?" She asked. "I don't even know your name!"

* * *

"Alright, what're you having?" Lainey asked her friend as they went through the lunch line.

Alisha shook her head and held up her cloth shopping bag. "I brought something from home, I can't afford lunch here." Lainey gave her a look.

"You barely have any food at home." She pointed out, but Alisha said nothing. "What did you bring?"

"I'm fine with what I have," Alisha attempted, but Lainey wasn't in the mood to deal with Alisha's lies about food. Instead of listening to her, Lainey pulled the bag out of her hands and looked inside. All she saw was a Powerade bottle full of water and a bologna sandwich. She gave Alisha an unimpressed look.

"You hate bologna."

Alaina took her bag back. "It's all we have right now. I have to go shopping tomorrow when our food stamps load up."

People behind of them began complaining, so they continued on down the line. Lainey made sure she grabbed enough food for both her and Alisha. Her father made enough money at his construction job so they weren't eligible for EBT, but it was low enough that Lainey could apply for free meals at school. Unfortunately, the school didn't provide Alisha with free lunches since she herself had a job. "The minute that card gets any money on it, your mom's gonna take it and sell every dollar on it."

"Not this time," Alisha sounded so sure. "I found the card in her dresser, so I hid it in my locker a couple of days ago."

They were now at the end of the line and Lainey reached into the kangaroo pouch of her hoodie and handed over her lunch slip to the lunch lady before she and Alisha tried to find a seat. That was, until Lainey spotted one of the boys from Glee club- the Asian one who had shown up late- and steered her clueless friend over to his table where he sat alone.

"Why're we all the way over here?" Alisha asked, having not spotted her admirer from earlier. "You hate sitting near the windows; you said it makes your nipples har..." She trailed off as she finally realized what her friend had done. The boy- Hiro, Lainey though his name was, had immediately noticed their presence and Alisha's face began to get hot as she realized that he had heard her statement and probably knew how it would have ended.

Lainey watched as the redhead stood there silently for a full- and very long- thirty seconds before she realized she had to push Alisha into speaking, as per usual. "Ali, you gonna introduce us?"

"I-I..." She swallowed and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"I'm Hiro,"

"Lainey," She said back before looking to Alisha who was still silent. "You know what?" She asked suddenly and both Alisha and Hiro looked to her. "I think I left my, uh...my bag. I think I left it in my car."

Alisha's eyebrows furrowed. "But you don't have a-"

"I think Imma go get it." Grabbing half the sandwich and the plastic container of tater-tots from the tray that Alisha held, Lainey gave her friend and encouraging look before leaving the cafeteria as fast as she could. Now alone with a boy she barely knew and way too much food on her tray, Alisha could feel the anxiety creeping up on her. What if he thought she was a pig with how much food she had? Of course she knew that she wasn't going to eat it all, but he didn't know that. What if he thought she was a weird eater? What if-

"Do you want to sit down?" Hiro asked and it suddenly dawned on her that she had been standing there staring at him the entire time since Alaina left.

Silently, she placed her tray down on the table before sitting down across from him. Not wanting to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already was, Hiro decided to speak, knowing that trying to ask her questions probably wasn't the way to deal with her shyness.

"I've only been here for about a week," He began as she picked at the half of the sandwich her friend had left. "I used to go to St. Edwards,"

"That's a nice school," Hiro barely heard her speak, but he didn't ask her to speak up.

"Yeah," He agreed. "The people suck, though. There was this guy there named Brick- who names their kid Brick?" He asked. "I mean, of all the names in the world, they picked the one named that matched his jockstrap, meathead, asshole persona." It was small, but Hiro saw the smile on her face when he said that. "He ended up getting me expelled, you know."

"...What'd he do?" Alisha asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm glad you asked," Alisha looked from from her tray and Hiro gave her a smile, hoping it would help her relax. "It all happened three weeks ago after he and one of his friends tried to copy off of me during a test in Algebra..."

* * *

"Who-who car is that?" Callie's little sister, Angel, asked as Callie carried her to the car. At three years old, Angel was speaking in full sentences, bur she had a habit of starting new sentences before she even finished the first one and she regularly stopped speaking in the middle of others.

"Uh, sissy's new friends." Callie told her. Opening the back door, Callie put Angel inside and helped her into the booster seat that Tasha already had in her car for her own younger siblings.

Hearing the door open, Tasha turned around and gave Angel a smile. "Hi, pretty lady. What's your name?"

"Angel," The little girl answered as Callie buckled her in.

"That is such a pretty name." Tasha complimented. "Now, what is a pretty girl with a pretty name like yours doing biting other kids?"

"Malik pulled my hair!" Angel defended. "Ms," She took a breath. "Ms. Julie said that Malik likeded me, but Callie said that boys don't be mean to-to girls they like."

"Ms. Julie white, ain't she?" Angel nodded as Callie closed the door and got into the front seat. "I knew it. I knew it because that's some white people shit and you can tell her I said that."

"Don't tell her that." Callie told her sister immediately as Tasha pulled out of the parking space.

"So, it's not white people stuff?" Angel asked. Callie nodded.

"Oh, no, it is." She confirmed. "But we don't say that to white people faces."

Tasha laughed. "Shit, I will! I'll turn around and go tell'er right now." Callie reached a hand toward the radio. "Don't bother," Tasha told her. "It's broken; my mama, apparently, don't know how a CD player words and she ended up breaking it. I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet." Doomed to sit in silence, Callie blew out a breath and sat back in her seat. After a few seconds of silence, she began to hum quietly. Tasha knew the song she was humming.

" _I learned the hard way on how to let go, so here we go_ ," Tasha sang and Callie looked over at her. She was surprised that Tasha knew any of JoJo's music; she was a ridiculously underrated singer. " _Feel the adrenaline takin' control; Get high, no low. This moment of truth hidden under my tongue; No longer numb. Running like rain when I thought it dried up; Can't get enough._ "

" _I'm climbing up these walls,_ " Callie took over. " _I'm invincible. Even if I fall, I fall on me. Got myself alive, up here in the sky; My ecstasy_."

" _I can only drink what I wanna drink_ ," They both sang. " _I can only say what I wanna say; I can only think what I wanna think. Don't hate me, don't hate- I can only love who I wanna love; I can only smoke what I wanna smoke: I can only-"_ They censored themselves for Angel's benefit. _"-who I wanna- Don't hate me, don't hate- I-I I can only, I-I I can only, I-I I can only."_

" _Don't hate me, don't hate. All that you're gettin' is all that you see,_ " Callie sang. " _I'm cool with it, nothing else ever made much sense to me. I'm not doing it. I'm climbing up these walls; I'm invincible. Even if I fall, I fall on me. Got myself alive, up here in the sky; My ecstasy_."

" _I can only do what I wanna do; I can only say what I wanna say; I can only think what I wanna think. Don't hate me, don't hate- I can only love who I wanna love; I can only look how I wanna look; I can only be what I wanna be. Don't hate me, don't hate_ -"

" _I-I I can only,_ " Tasha sang. " _I-I I can only, I-I I can only-_ "

" _Don't hate me, don't hate-_ "

" _I-I I can only...I-I I can only...I-I I can only...Pour a drink and hold it up._ " Tasha sang as she looked in the rearview mirror to see that Angel was trying to sing with them. " _Here's a toast, there's only one..._ "

" _I can only drink what I wanna drink,_ " They both sang again. " _I can only say what I wanna say; I can only think what I wanna think. Don't hate me, don't hate- I can only love who I wanna love; I can only smoke what I wanna smoke; I can only- who I wanna- Don't hate me, don't hate- I-I I can only...I-I I can only...I-I I can only_ -"

" _Don't hate me, don't hate-_ "

" _I-I I can only...I-I I can only...I-I I can only-_ "

" _Don't hate me, don't hate-_ " Callie ended. In the backseat, Angel clapped and Callie looked back at her.

"You was sooo good!" She complimented only to be distracted a few seconds later. "Ooh! Can we get McDonalds?!" She practically shouted.

"You'll eat when we get to Abuela's." Callie told her.

"She is right, though." Callie looked to Tasha with a raised eyebrow. "We was sooo good!" She repeated in an imitation of Angel's high voice as she leaned into Callie who pushed her back into her own seat.

"Eyes on the road, Beyonce." She ordered.

"I am as good as Beyonce, aren't I?" Callie rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off her face.

* * *

Catalina was rushing.

When wasn't she rushing? That was the real question, but at the moment she was ridiculously frazzled by how much she actually needed to do; she had just gotten off of from her shift at the restaurant and now she was at school. She was gonna need to ask at least three of her teacher for extensions on assignments, she had to go back home during her free period to grab her clean gym clothes for last period, then- after school- she had three one hour long classes at the studio and still had to get back home in time for dinner. And she still had that stupid audition thing for that club Jada had asked her to join so she could get out of detention.

"It's not an audition," Nevaeh insisted as she and Jada walked her to the choir room with their arms interlinked. "You're already in the club, Mr. Schue just wants to know what he's working with."

"I don't really have time-" Catalina began only to be interrupted by Jada.

"And that's why we gonna help you make the time." She said and Catalina raised an eyebrow. "Quit your job at the restaurant- let me finish!" She said seeing that her friend was already beginning to protest. "Nevaeh's _zaddy_ -" She grinned and Nevaeh rolled her eyes. The unconstrained appreciation Jada had for her fifty year old father was something she would never be used to. "Is letting offering you a new position."

"A new position?"

"Yep," Nevaeh confirmed. "Assistant Student Manager to the Assistant Manager; it comes with less hours- zero actually and has a pay of twenty bucks an hour."

Catalina's eyebrow furrowed. "But the manager only makes fifteen an hour," She pointed out, confused. "Why am I getting paid more if I'm not even showing up?"

"Because my daddy loves me and he can't stand to see me cry," Nevaeh grinned. "Plus, he knows how hard you work, babe. He talked to Mariana and they both agreed that you work too hard. Think of this as...your birthday present." She said knowing that Catalina was not a fan of handouts.

"My birthday was months ago," Catalina pointed out.

"A late birthday present then." She opened her mouth to argue, but Jada didn't give her the chance.

"Did we mention you don't have a choice?" She asked. "You have been fired and forced to take some time for yourself while you get paid for nothing," She kiseed Catalina's cheek.

Catalina honestly didn't know what to say; when she had been born her parents didn't have much and that was true while she grew up and it was true on an entirely different level when they had been deported back to Honduras. Despite owning a dance studio where she taught people to dance, Catalina and her small, broken family barely stayed afloat; between bills, rent, and school they just barely had enough money to send to her parents. She hated hand outs- her parents had always instilled it in her that she had to work for what she wanted- but maybe she had earned it. Being Jada and Nevaeh's friend was a job in itself.

" _If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea_ ," Nevaeh sang. " _I'll sail the world to find you._ "

" _If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,_ " Jada added. " _I'll be the light to guide you. We find out what we're made of when we are called to help our friends in need._ "

" _You can count on me like one, two, three; I'll be there._ " Catalina continued. " _And I know when I need it I can count on you like four, three, two; You'll be there, 'cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah._ "

" _Ooh~, ooh~, yeah, yeah. If you tossin' and you're turnin' and you just can't fall asleep,_ " Nevaeh sang. " _I'll sing a song beside you and if you ever forget how much you really mean to me, everyday I will remind you. We find out what we're made of when we are called to help our friends in need, oh_."

" _You can count on me like one, two, three; I'll be there._ " Catalina leaned her head on Jada's shoulder. " _And I know when I need it I can count on you like four, three, two; You'll be there, 'cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah._ "

" _Ooh~, ooh~, yeah, yeah,_ "

" _You'll always have my shoulder when you cry,_ " Catalina continued as they neared the choir room. " _I'll never let go-_ "

" _Never say goodbye~_ " The three girls chorused before Jada took over. " _You know you can count on me like one, two, three; I'll be there._ "

" _And I know when I need it I can count on you like four, three, two and you'll be there_ ," Nevaeh sang. "' _Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah. Ooh~, ooh~,_ "

" _You can count on me 'cause I can count on you,_ " Catalina finished as they arrived in front of the choir room. Giving her a supportive smile, Nevaeh opened the door and Jada gently pushed her in.

* * *

"How was school today, Madoka?"

This was the norm at Maddie's house on weeknights; she, her parents, little brother Benjie and little sister Dalisay sat down at the small dining room table that their house allowed and ate dinner together. Maddie's mother, Chelsea, would question Benjie and Dalisay about what they had learned and done at preschool and middle school that day before asking Maddie's father, Lee, about his day at work. Lastly, after recounting her own day to everyone, Chelsea would get to Maddie who she knew preferred to speak last. Normally, Maddie would have readily volunteered the happenings of her day, but this wasn't a normal day; it wasn't normal for her to join an unacademic club without her mothers' approval.

"Madoka?" Chelsea asked again and Maddie kept her eyes on her fork as she pushed around the mashed potatoes left on her plate. "How was school?"

"Fine," She answered quietly. "I got an A on my calculus test."

"What about your English paper?" Chelsea asked right before ordering Benjie to wipe off his face. He giggled but did as he was told.

"Uh, Mr. Dodd wasn't there today and we're not supposed to hand in our assignments to the substitutes since they lose a lot of them," She relayed. "So, I won't know until he gets back tomorrow."

"And Matheletes?" Her mother continued to prod. "Have you learned whether you've been chosen for captain?" At that, Maddie's eyes snapped to her father who gave her an encouraging look. The exchange when unnoticed by her mother, thankfully.

"Uh...I," Her father nodded. "I actually stepped away from Matheletes." Her mother's head immediately looked up from her plate as she stared hard at her daughter and Maddie dropped her gaze.

"You quit?!" Her mother demanded, not loudly. Benjie, who was only three, had a tendency to cry whenever people yelled.

"I...yeah," Gathering her courage, Maddie looked up from her plate and looked at her mother. "Mathletes meets at the same time as, um... as Glee club, so I had to choose."

"What is Glee club?" Her mother's voice was hard.

"It's like- it's kind of like choir, but we go to different kinds of competitions and it's more of a club than it is a class." She could already feel the disapproval radiating off of her mother. "Plus, I think Mr. Schue said-"

"Mr. Schue?" Her mother asked.

"He's the director. He says that Glee is a bit more spirited than choir because we have to dance and sing and apparently there's an acting component that no one told me about before I signed up." She swallowed.

"Chesa," Her father began, using her mother's birth name and drawing her attention to him. "It's one club. Maddie does everything she's asked when it's asked of her and she never complains; we can give her this."

"And Mr. Schue is accomplished," Maddie added in quickly. "The school he came from- McKinley, it's one of the best performance arts school in the country. A lot of his students are actually really famous."

Her mother looked like she had swallowed a lemon. "No," She shook her head and Maddie's heart deflated. "Absolutely not."

"Chesa-"

"She needs to focus on her schoolwork, Lee," She insisted. "We don't have money for a good school! Without a scholarship-"

"How do you think she'll get a scholarship if she spends all her time doing work?!" He shot back, just as loudly. Maddie could see her brother's chin wobbling. Dalisay saw it too and immediately began to get herself and Benjie away from the conversation. "Colleges want kids that are active and programs!"

"She is active in programs!"

"Academic ones!" Her father retorted. "Do you know how many scholarships there are for kids who participate in band or- or singing programs?"

"Yeah, and how many are there for Glee club?" Her mother practically spat before looking at Maddie. "On Monday, you're going back to mathletes and quitting that ridiculous club."

"No, she's not!" Maddie's mother looked shocked at how loud Lee had gotten and how angry he seemed to be. He seemed to have realized the same thing and tried to calm himself down. "Chesa," He said much more softly. "Maddie's staying in Glee; it's something she likes to do, she finally has some friends who don't just want her class notes. Her social life is just as import as her academics." He looked to Maddie. "Go to bed; I'll clean up tonight." Not wanting to spark another argument between her parents, Maddie did as she was told. When she got upstairs, Dalisay was laying on her bed in the room they shared. When she saw Maddie, she didn't hold in her thoughts.

"Why did you have to make them fight?" She asked accusingly. "They fight enough about money and everything else, they don't need you adding to it." Maddie knew she was right.

"Where are you going?" Maddie asked when Dalisay began gathering her covers.

"I'm sleeping in Benjie's room," She said before grabbing her pillow and stalking out of the room. Maddie didn't try to stop her even though she wanted to; she wanted to go after Dalisay and yell how it wasn't her fault- not that the thirteen year old would even care. Instead, she just fell down on her bed and stared up at the soft glowing stars on the ceiling.

" _Hey_ ," Maddie began softly. " _Don't write yourself off yet; It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on. Just try your best, try everything you can and don't you worry what they tell themselves when you're away. It just takes some time, little girl, you're in the middle of the ride; Everything, everything will be just fine. Everything, everything will be all right._ "

" _Hey, you know they're all the same; You know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in. Live right now, just be yourself. It doesn't matter if that's good enough for someone else. It just takes some time, little girl, you're in the middle of the ride; Everything, everything will be just , everything will be all right._ "

" _It just takes some time, little girl, you're in the middle of the ride; Everything, everything will be just fine. Everything, everything will be all right._ "

Going to school the next morning, Maddie didn't do as her mother wanted her to- instead, she went straight to the choir room where Mr. Schue was and continued on singing. Slowly, as she did, the other members of the club began to trickle in.

" _Hey, don't write yourself off yet; It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on. Just do your best, do everything you can- don't you worry what their bitter hearts are going to say. It just takes some time, little girl, you're in the middle of the ride; Everything, everything will be just fine. Everything, everything will be all right It just takes some time, little girl, you're in the middle of the ride; Everything, everything will be just fine. Everything, everything will be all right_."

" _It just takes some time, little girl, you're in the middle of the ride; Everything, everything will be just fine. Everything, everything will be all right._ "

Mr. Schue gave her a smile as he stood. "You know, when your friends told me you were rapper, I was expecting-"

"Something harder?" Maddie guessed. "I just...I needed to sing that."

Mr. Schue nodded. "I understand," He insisted. "And, while I did expect something different from you, I'm glad to know that you're not a one trick pony." Maddie went to go sit down and turned to the rest of the group. "Okay guys, so far, I am amazed at what I've heard so far, but I am ready to see what the rest of you have got." The bell rang. "That's it for right now, but I'll see you guys in a couple of hours after fifth period."

* * *

"Hey, Mr. Schue," Will slowed down and turned his head when he heard his name and saw the cousins from his Glee club. Adande came up on his right and Corbin on his life.

"Adande," Will didn't stop walking as the boys walked with him. "Corbin, what can I help you guys with?"

"Well, I don't really do the whole singing thing," Adande told him. "I only joined because Corbin did." Will didn't miss the look that Corbin shot his cousin, giving him the impression that his statement wasn't exactly true. "But I am good with my camera- it's kinda the only thing I don't fu- screw up."

"I'm sure that's not true-" Will started, but Corbin interrupted.

"No, it is." He nodded. "Dande tried to three minute rice once and he nearly burned down the house."

"Shut up, Corbin." Adande ordered. "Anyway, I was hoping that I could probably just do something else- like Tasha; she probably gon' be on that music thing in the choir room more often than not."

Will quirked an eyebrow as the boys followed him up the stairs. "And what exactly would you be doing?"

"I was thinkin' that I could probably, like, manage our Youtube channel or something."

"We don't have a Youtube channel."

"But we could," Corbin chimed in. "I'm a dancer and Adande is great with his camera. We could do videos every week- we could end up gettin' sponsored."

"You're already sponsored," Will reminded him, but he did think about their idea. He had never really had someone who was into cameras like Adande seemed to be- and who was he to limit creativity? "By McKinley, remember?"

"Okay," Corbin conceded. "But there's no harm in it. It's not like we can get kicked out of those competitions...right?"

Will nodded. "Right; as long as you guys aren't getting paid to entertain, you can compete." Getting off the stairs, Will headed towards the choir room with Corbin and Adande right behind him.

"So, can we do it?" The latter asked and Will pretended to think about it for a moment.

"How about this," He began. "Today's Tuesday; if you can get at least four of the people in Glee into videos and have them ready by Friday, then I'll let you guys have the channel."

Adande grinned. "You cool as fu-"

"AF," Corbin interrupted, most likely saving his cousin from a detention. "Cool AF," Grabbing Adande by the arm, he began pulling him away, but Will could still hear him talking. "You know you cain't cuss in front of him; he white." Shaking his head, Will turned and turned into the choir room and went straight to his office. Turning on his computer, he answered the video chat call that came only a second later. He was right on time.

Emma's face filled his screen and he could see that she was holding Bailey; their youngest at only a year and a half. "Hey," She smiled when she saw he had answered. "I'm surprised you answered so quickly."

"I've been waiting to talk to you for almost a week," He reminded. "No way was I gonna miss the call." Between his job and her job and the kids, they didn't exactly have a lot of time to talk on the phone, so they had agreed to video chats twice a week. Unfortunately, Emma had missed the second one from last week when their oldest son, Daniel, decided to pull a Mary Poppins and broke his leg when he jumped off the garage roof.

"How's it going down there?" Emma asked, shifting Bailey in her arms so she couldn't hit the keys of the computer. "Have you decided whether or not you're gonna stay?"

When Will had gotten the call from the principal of Crenshaw almost three months ago, he hadn't wanted to go to the school; the last thing he had wanted was to leave his wife and their three children, but then he started thinking about McKinley and what would've happened to his Glee kids if he had rebooted the Glee club- if he hadn't fought for them. He hadn't liked it, but he knew he needed to give the Crenshaw kids the same chance before their school was closed.  
He had agreed to sponsor Crenshaw and help keep them open, but he hadn't figured out whether or not he wanted to personally do it himself or send another teacher down to do it so he had decided to try it on a trial period before deciding if he wanted his family to follow him to Miami. Emma could see that he had already made her decision when she asked him.

"I think I am," Will nodded. "I know moving is the last thing we need at the moment, but...I just can't leave these kids. They're talented and, with a little help, they could all accomplish something- big things. I mean, I doubt any of them are off to join Rachel on Broadway," Emma laughed. "But...I think they've got a real chance at oding something big."

"I'm proud of you, Will." Emma told him. "I really am...and I can't wait to get down to Florida and meet your new kids."


	5. Growing Pains

**Just so you all know, while each person in Glee club will be singing, they won't all do it for Mr. Schue. If they sing in the chapter, it counts as them showing what they got. Doesn't matter if only one person is there listening or no one.**

* * *

Zendaya as Jada De La Rosa  
 **Voice Claim:** Zendaya/Alessia Cara

Diggy Simmons as Javon Williams  
 **Voice Claim:** Diggy Simmons/Skizzy Mars

Macy Kate as Nevaeh Ross  
 **Voice Claim:** Charli XCX/Macy Kate

Martina Stoessel as Catalina Mia Vargas  
 **Voice Claim:** Martina Stoessel

Tristan Mays as Callie Campbell  
 **Voice Claim:** Camilla Cabello/Demi Lovato

Emeraude Toubia as Lainey Valentine  
 **Voice Claim:** Siren Gene

Luke Benward as Lucas Bond  
 **Voice Claim:** Nick Jonas/Machine Gun Kelly

Face Claim: Alex Pettyfer as Eddie Deeming  
 **Voice Claim:** Harry styles/Caleb Followill

Katherine McNamara as Alisha Hill  
 **Voice Claim:** Chrissy Costanza/Sara Bareilles

Jacob Latimore as Corbin Alexander  
 **Voice Claim:** Jacob Latimore/Roshon Feagan

Jessica Jarell as Tasha Norris  
 **Voice Claim:** Jessica Jarell/Eryn Allen Kane

Jordan Fisher as Adande Johnson  
 **Voice Claim:** Lloyd/Jordan Fisher

Trevor Jackson as Theo James  
 **Voice Claim:** Bruno Mars/Jason Derulo

Tyler James Williams as Darrel James  
 **Voice Claim:** Tyler James Williams/Usher

Masahiro Higashide as Hiro Sato  
 **Voice Claim:** Brendon Urie

Julia Barretto as Madoka Ning  
 **Voice Claim:** Natalie Valerin/Snow Tha Product

Gabrielle Union as Principal Erica Williams

* * *

 **Chapter Songs**

That's What I Like - Bruno Mars (Macy Kate Cover)  
I Can Only - JoJo ft. Alessia Cara  
The Middle - Jimmy Eat World (Kina Grannis Cover)  
Quit You - Lost Kings ft. Tinashe (Sample)  
Dream On - Aerosmith (Postmodern Jukebox Ft. Morgan James Cover)  
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon (Boyce Avenue feat. Hannah Tigwell Cover)  
Growing Pains by Alessia Cara

* * *

 **TUESDAY**

* * *

After getting the go-ahead from Mr. Schue, Adande and Corbin immediately went out getting people to be in their videos. Thankfully, no one seemed adverse to the idea- if anything, the problem was that everyone wanted to be in the video- well, other than Alisha, but she was nudged into doing it by Hiro who thought it was a good idea. In the end, there were only two videos and five different performances that they'd perform for Mr. Schue throughout the week and post on the internet if he greenlit the channel.

It was after school on Tuesday that Adande and Corbin met with Alisha, Hiro, Lucas and Lainey to start with the first video. Lainey wasn't actually in the video, but Alisha had insisted she be there.  
Since the park in their neighborhood was unusable since there was road construction going on that Adande didn't want messing up the video, so they were meeting in one of the better neighborhoods. "A white neighborhood, you mean." Lainey had pointed out and no one had corrected her.

"Alright, assholes," Adande pulled their attention to him. He was in an especially good mood when he saw that there weren't that man other people in the park and the few that lingered weren't paying attention to him. "Here's how it's gonna go; Lucas is on that bench over there and you two-" He gestured to Alisha and Hiro. "Are on that one over there."

"What are you thinking?" Corbin asked as Adande stepped.

"I'm thinking I'd start over there in front of Hiro," He explained as the three got in their instructed positions and Lainey got out of the way. "For his part, pull out for him and Alisha together and then pan to Lucas. He's gonna walk through the park and the camera's gonna follow."

"What about Alisha and Hiro?"

"Uh," Adande thought for a second. "I'll cut in a couple of clips of them through Lucas' verses and when it's time for Alisha and Hiro, he'll round the park to them and I'll just stay on'em." Adande looked to his cousin for approval and he nodded with a thumbs up.

"Wait," Corbin said suddenly. "Why am I here?" Adande grinned.

"Living statue," Corbin immediately began to protest, but Adande continued. "I know you hate it, but it'd look amazing. While Lucas is walking around, you can be dancing on the rim of the fountain." Corbin was not having it. "C'mon, please? I do your dish day."

"Deal," There was only one thing Corbin hated more than living statues and that was his dish day. His little brother Troy and Adande's sister Destiny weren't supposed to do dishes anymore after they had broken a glass bowl which resulted in a cut on Destiny's leg that required six stitches, so the chore fell on Adande and Corbin.

"Alright, assholes!" Adande called out. "We're starting! Lucas, I need you to look like you don't even want to be here- perfect!"

"I'm not even doing anything," He pointed out before understanding what Adande was saying. "Asshole,"

"Hiro and Alisha," Adande called out, ignoring Lucas's comment. "You're two strangers on a bench. Talk, tell jokes, and try not to be as awkward as I know you both are. Props!" Without any other warning, he tossed a book out at them and Alisha just barely managed to duck before the book flew at her face.

"Dude!" Hiro exclaimed.

He raised a hand. "My bad!"

"Was that an apology?" Alisha asked as she got up and got the book.

"No," Adande shook his head. "It was my bad. Now, lets go. We got one day to do this!"

* * *

 **WEDNESDAY**

* * *

"Darrel!" Turning his head, Darrel barely had time to steady himself before Tasha crashed into him and threw her arm around his shoulders. He sputtered as her long, silky, black ponytail hit him in the face. She was careful not to pull him to close in fear that her carefully done makeup would smear which was a huge no-no.

"Dang, you almost knocked me down!" He complained, but she didn't apologize. Darrel couldn't possibly fathom what Tasha Norris wanted from him- of all people in school. Other than Glee club and their sixth period algebra class, they had never spoken to each other. He was sure that she didn't even know his last name.

"I need something from you," She said and he sighed. Of course she did; just like in math class, the only time she had spoken to him was when she needed something to write with which was everyday. Their teacher- Ms. McCullough- would only hand out pencils in exchange for phones and literally no one was willing to make that trade. "You were at that party Jada threw, right?"

"She told everyone they had to come or she'd start stealing and smashing phones. Of course, I was there."

"Well, then you saw Maddie rap." She continued. "Now, Maddie's my girl and all, but she is sheltered as hell; her mama freaked out when she found out Maddie quit Matheletes to join Glee club and she's been all quiet and shy ever since because her parents started fighting.

"Does Maddie know you tellin' everybody her business?" Tasha just rolled her eyes. "And that girl's always been shy and quiet."

"No," Tasha pointed a finger at him. "She's been held back by her mama. If you saw that Maddie that I've seen, you would've thought that she raised by Shanaynay; she be cussin' and rappin' and just...she be herself."

"What does this have to do with me?" Darrel asked as he stopped at his locker. Tasha dropped her arm and leaned against the locker beside his as he put in his combination.

"Because I'm trying to let all her ratchet, bougie, black-ness out." She told him as he pulled open the door. "That's what I need you for; I started making a mix for her for after I found out that this Glee thing has competitions, but I couldn't do anything. That's when I decided that I was gonna write her a song." Darrel stopped at that and she looked at him.

"Write her a song?" He repeated and she nodded. "Do you know how long it takes to write a song?" He asked. "Weeks- sometimes even months-"

"Not true!" Tasha cut in. "R.E.M. wrote the Losing My Religion in one day."

"Who the hell is R.E.M.?" Darrel asked as Tasha's eyebrow lifted as her mouth fell open.

"You uncultured fuck." She said softly before shaking her head. "Okay, I'm gon' forget your ignorance for the sake of Maddie's song."

"Maddie doesn't have a song," Darrel reminded her only for Tasha to dig into her large tote and pull out a sheet of paper. "What's this?"

"Maddie's song." She answered. "I wrote that yesterday after I went on a Snow Tha Product binge. She is seriously underrated by the way."

On that Darrel could agree. "Yeah, I know." He nodded as he read over the paper. "She should be way bigger than she is- this is actually really good." He told her. " _Remind me once again why I'm repeating that we can't be more than friends. I'm just protecting myself from the possibility that you could turn me down- Thinking that I'm better off if I don't make a sound._ It's not a rap song."

"Well, Maddie's not just about rap songs." Tasha pointed out. "She's just got a really strong voice, but she can go soft, too. I'm trying to focus her towards mellow pop that builds and maybe some R&B."

"Your song's not finished," Darrel noticed.

"That's why I was coming to you," She admitted. "I need a beat, but I've never made an original one, just a couple of mashups. Nevaeh talked to Corbin-"

"Who's screwing my brother who told you about me." Tasha nodded and Darrel sighed. "Alright, I'll help you with this, but it's gonna take a while to get it all done."

"That's fine!" Tasha insisted with a huge smile on her face. "Thank you!" Grabbing him by the shoulders, she planted a kiss onto his cheek before running off towards the stairs.

"Is there a reason Tasha kissed you?" Turning his head, Darrel saw Callie with a wet nap in her hand.

Callie and his friendship hadn't been one that many people understood. When they looked at the two, they saw two completely different people, but that was only sort of true; Callie had moved to Miami in middle school and- after being kicked out of the popular girls group- hadn't had any friends. She had sat next to Darrel on the day of their middle school graduation (having been seating by first name and not last) and his mother had noticed that Callie's was not in attendance. Callie had explained that he had to work, but Sabrina James hadn't wanted her to be alone so she had invited Callie out when she took Darrel and his siblings out for pizza to celebrate. As usual when encountering new people, Callie had been on defense the entire night, but found that she actually enjoyed Darrel's company; much like her, he was blunt and didn't beat around the bush when he talked or wanted something. She had appreciated that.

Darrel took the wet nap and wiped Tasha's dark lipstick from his face. "She wanted to talk about our shared interests; she's writing a song and wanted my help." Getting what he needed from his locker, Darrel closed the door and started walked towards the geography class he shared with Callie. "Speakin' of songs, what're you singin' for Mr. Schue?"

Callie sighed. "I don't know," She admitted. "I was thinking about something by Birdy or Jessie J, but I haven't committed to anything yet."

"What about rock?" Darrel suggested. "You got all those rock songs on your Spotify playlist." Callie shrugged.

"Maybe," She sighed. "I don't even know if I want to do this; I only joined because Nevaeh asked me. Jada doesn't even want me in this club and I don't stay where I'm not wanted."

"Man, screw Jada." Darrel said. "She don't own the school. Glee club ain't just hers- who cares if she wants you there or not? I don't." Callie looked at him appreciatively as she put an arm over his shoulder. He was about three inches taller than her, so her arm kind of hung awkwardly.

"You always know what to say."

 **(BTM)**

" _Every time I look in the mirror,_ " Callie sang. Not everyone was in the choir room watching her performance, but it was almost the entire club. It didn't matter though; Callie was simply showing Mr. Schue what he could expect from her. That's why she had chosen a different melody and temp for the her song. Whatever anybody else thought of her didn't matter. " _All these lines on my face getting clearer. The past is gone; It went by, like dusk to dawn. Isn't that the way? Everybody's got their dues to pay. Yeah, I know nobody knows where it comes and where it goes. I know it's everybody's sin. You got to lose to know how to win._ "

" _Half my life,_ " She continued, her voice noticeably stronger. " _Is in books, written pages. Lived and learned from fools and from sages. You know it's true~ oh! All the things come down to you!"_

" _Sing with me, sing for the years, sing for the laughter, sing for the tear! Sing with me, just for today! Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord take you away!_ " She belted and Mr. Schue looked surprised at the long and very strong note that was coming from her mouth- everyone did, besides Darrel.

Darrell, who sat at the piano behind Callie, took this time to play while Maddie- who had gotten to help out- plucked at the strings of her cello. The rest of the sounds were coming from Tasha and the sound station. Callie vocalized as she instrument solo got louder and Maddie stopped plucking at her cello and pulled her bow back out. " _Yeah! Sing with me! Sing for the year, sing for the laughter, sing for the tear! Sing with me, if just for today! Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord take you away!_ "

" _Dream on!_ " Callie belted. " _Dream on! Dream on! Dream 'til your dreams come true!_ " She bopped her head with the stops in the music, her black hair flying everywhere. " _Dream on! Dream on! Dream on! Dream 'til your dream comes true! Dream on! Dream on! Dream on! Dream on! Dream on~! Dream on! Dream!_ " Eyes were wide at how high her voice went. " _Dream!_ "

The music and Callie's voice slowed considerably as they neared the end of the song. " _Sing with me, sing for the years, sing for the laughter, sing for the tears. Sing with me, if just for today. Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away..._ " The song finished off with the last few notes from Tasha, Darrel, and Maddie.

Mr. Schue was the first to clap and the others followed suit. "Wow," He breathed. "Guys, that was amazing! Callie, I honestly did not think your voice could go that far into the soprano range."

"Yeah," She breathed. Callie'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little out of breath. "Neither did I."

"You're being humble-"

"She's really not," Darrel interrupted. "Blunt, bitchy- sometimes even mean- but never humble." Not turning around to look at him, Callie slipped a hand behind her back and flipped her friend off.

* * *

"Alright, guys," The teacher called as the bell rang. Maddie immediately began packing up her things before standing up. "Go on to your next class and I'll see you guys tomorrow- and, please, do not forget to bring in your book reports. If you haven't done it already- which I suspect most of you haven't- get it done tonight."

Making her way out of the English room, Maddie felt her phone vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans and pulled it out. It was, of course, her mother.

Mom: What grade did you get on your English assignment?

Maddie sighed before texting back.

Madoka: I don't turn it in until tomorrow.

The next text was almost instant.

Mom: What did you do in study hall?

Maddie grimaced. She hadn't gone to study hall earlier that day- instead, spending her free period in the computer lab with Adande. Adande had filmed the second video to show Mr. Schue and had asked Maddie to show him how to do a few editing tricks since she was the only person he knew that got a higher grade in Media Immersion than him. Thankfully, because he had used green screen, Maddie was able to get him the effects he wanted.

Madoka: Worked on something for Media Immersion.

It, technically, wasn't a lie.

Maddie was pulled away from her texting conversation when she heard the familiar sound of cheering, whooping, and yells that signaled a fight had broken out.  
Looking up from her phone, Maddie saw a mob of students had appeared out of nowhere in the halls. Wanting no part in anything that was likely to get her pepper sprayed, Maddie turned to walk away in the other direction. Unfortunately, she was pushed towards the students when even more came from the stairwell and rushed to see the fight. Now she was just trying to get through all the teenagers.

"Break it up!" She was able to hear Principal Williams yell over all the screaming and cheering. "I said, break it up! Everybody get back to class!" Pushing herself through the throng of dispersing high schoolers, Maddie pressed up against a wall of lockers to avoid before tripped and walked over. She couldn't, however, resist looking to see who had been fighting and was surprised when she saw a familiar face.

"To the office!" Principal Williams ordered, pulling a tall boy with dark brown hair down the hall. The security guard followed after with one of the boys from Glee club- Eddie, if Maddie remembered correctly. His blue eyes met her brown ones as he passed her, but the Security guard pushed him when he slowed.

"Ease up, dude." Eddie commented. "I'm going! Damn," Looking at Maddie one last time, Eddie continued down the hall with the guard following before turning and disappearing when he turned down a hall.

 _Of course_ , Maddie sighed. _All the cute ones are troublemakers_. Turning, Maddie started towards her next class when she noticed a backpack laying forgotten near the trash can. Going over to it, Maddie knelt down before unzipping it and pulling out one of the folders. Flipping it open when was unsurprised when she saw the name Edward Deeming scribbled on top. She also, couldn't help but take note that the paper was from an algebra test that he had only scored a forty-two on. Against her better judgement, Maddie went through the rest of the test papers only to find that Eddie's failing grade wasn't anything new. The highest score he had gotten on any of them was a sixty-two. There was absolutely no way that he was managing a passible grade.

 **(BTM)**

"This is your last warning, Mr. Deeming!" Principal Williams called after Eddie as he stalked out of the office. "Next fight is a month in ISS!" Resisting the urge to flip her and everyone watching the finger, Eddie pushed open the office door with a lot more force than necessary. There was no way he was actually staying the rest of the day after that bullshit fight; he hadn't even started it that time, but- as usual- he got blamed for it.

Turning, Eddie went down the hall and was about to push his push his way through the doors that lead to the parking lot when the Asian girl from earlier stepped into his way. He was only just able to stop before he knocked her over.

"Do you need something?" He asked, rather rudely. She didn't look fazed though, which surprised him. Eddie had her pegged as one of the quiet, repressed girls- the ones who shied away from talking to other people. He knew that type well enough.

"You dropped your bag," She told him and it was only then that he realized it hanging from her shoulder. Shrugging it off, she held it out and he took it. Anyone else would have thanked her- after all, his wallet and keys to his motorcycle were inside- but not Eddie; he was in too much of a bad mood.

"Is that it?"

"No," She said immediately, surprising herself. "I just...I couldn't help but notice that you're not doing well in Algebra...at all and I was thinking that, maybe, if you needed a little help, I could-"

"You went through my stuff?" He demanded and he could slowly see that demure and shy personality begin to take over.

"I- I just-"

"You need to mind your damn business," Eddie snapped and that seemed to stop whatever was turning her back into a timid little school girl. Her eyes hardened as they narrowed at him.

"I was just trying to help." She snapped back. "I mean, it's not like I ditched my AP English class to give you back your crap." She dropped his bag down at his feet. "Asshole," She muttered as she pushed past him.

 _"She was just trying to help," Eddie's mother insisted as she watched him clean up the spilled paint that was meant for his papier-mâché solar system. Eddie didn't say anything back; even at ten, he had been too proud to admit that he had been wrong to yell at his seven year old sister._

 _"She spilled all my paint," He grumbled. He stopped cleaning up the paint as a warm, slender hand slipped under his chin and tilted his head up. His mother gave him a patient smile._

 _"She tried to help because she cared, Eddie." She told him. "Sometimes, when people help, they hurt instead, but that doesn't mean they don't care...people care about you Eddie._

"Wait," Eddie sighed before turning around. Maddie had stopped, but it took a second before she finally decided to turn around. "I'm sorry," He apologized as sincerely as he could at that moment. "Thank you for bringing back my bag."

"...You're welcome," She replied. "You're still an asshole, though." Eddie nodded.

"I know," He acknowledged. "Look, I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm just..."

"Having a bad day?" Maddie finished and he nodded. "Okay, maybe you're not a dick all the time." She allowed.

"I'm really not," He assured her.

"Did you start that fight earlier?"

Eddie shook his head. "No; some asshole found out I failed my Algebra test and called me a retard so I called him a punk-ass bitch. He started it and I finished it."

"You're not a retard," Maddie told him. "You're just...not getting it like you should be, but that doesn't mean you're a retard; lots of people have trouble with algebra."

"Do you?"

"...No," She admitted as she went back over to him. "But you can't compare yourself to me. My mom had me doing algebra when I was in third grade and I tested out last year- plus we're not even in the same grade."

Eddie's eyebrows furrowed. "Aren't you the same age as me?"

"Yeah, but I skipped ninth grade," She informed him. "My mom's got me on the fast track to MIT." She said at his look.

"So, that means you're kinda smart."

"Why do you think I offered you tutor you?" She asked. "Or, tried to; you didn't even let me finish saying what I was gonna say." She pointed out. "So, do you?"

"Do I what?" Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Want help with algebra?"

"Oh, uh...yeah, that'd actually be kind of cool of you."

"Good," Maddie gave him a smile. "We can meet up everyday after school-"

"Everyday?!"

"Everyday," Maddie nodded. "My mom had me doing quadratic equations in exchange for desert every night after dinner. We're also gonna be spending study hall together."

"I don't get a free period," He told her.

"Then lunch," She insisted. "Starting tomorrow." Turning around, Maddie went to walk away when Eddie called her again. "Yes?"

"Why are you helping me?" He asked. "I was a dick to you."

She didn't disagree with him. "Because I've seen you everyday since school started and you're always alone; at lunch, in P.E.- even in chemistry...You don't have anyone. Everybody should have someone who cares."

Eddie watched her as she walked away. _"Everybody should have someone who cares,"_ She had said. He had to admit, when it came to people who wanted to care about him, he could've done a lot worse. Maddie seemed like a nice girl; she was kind, generous, smart and Eddie would be lying if he said she wasn't pretty. Yeah, Maddie was a good person and he knew that, most of the time, he wasn't. Why the hell had she even wanted to help him.

No longer wanting to go home, but not wanting to be around people, Eddie went to the choir room. Just like he figured, it was empty and the blinds that covered the window that looked into Mr. Schue's office were opened so he could see that no one was inside.

Dropping his bag, Eddie sat down at the piano and pressed down on a could of random keys in boredom until it actually started to sound like something.

" _I've been roaming around, a_ _lways looking down at all I see."_ His other hand joined in. _"Painted faces fill the places I can't reach. You know that I could use somebody...You know that I could use somebody..._ "

" _Someone like you, and all you know, and how you speak,_ " Maddie sang as she walked down the hall. " _Countless lovers under cover of the street. You know that I could use somebody...You know that I could use somebody, yeah_ ,"

" _Someone like you,_ " Eddie continued. " _Someone like you_..."

" _Off in the night_ ," They started together. " _While you live it up, I'm off to sleep._ _Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat._ "

" _I hope it's gonna make you notice, yeah..._ _I hope it's gonna make you notice- yeah, yeah._ "

" _Someone like me_ ," Eddie sang.

" _Ooh, oo-ooh, oo-ooh..._ " Maddie let out softly as she went up the stairs.

" _Someone like me_ ,"

" _Ooh, oo-ooh, oo-ooh..._ "

" _Someone like me...somebody,_ "

" _Ooh, oo-ooh, oo-ooh..._ "

" _I'm ready now, I'm ready now, I'm ready now_ ," Eddie sang. " _I'm ready now...Oh, o-oh!_ " He and Maddie harmonized. " _I'm ready now, I'm ready now, I'm ready now...I'm ready now_."

" _I've been roaming around_ ," Eddie continued. " _Always looking down at all I see._ _Painted faces fill the places I can't reach_ ,"

" _You know that I could use somebody..._ " Maddie took over as she neared her class.

" _You know that I could use~_ " They harmonized. " _Somebody..._ " Eddie pressed down on the last few keys before closing the fallboard and Maddie went into her class.

* * *

"Ya'll go set the table," Tasha ordered as she picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Hakeem and Alyssa, her ten year old brother and five year old sister, immediately began to complain. "Uh-uh!" She shut them up. "I don't wanna hear it; I told ya'll to do it ten minutes ago. Dinner's done and mamma's gonna be home from work soon and you know she gon' be tired." Alyssa got up to do as she was told, but Hakeem- who was going through a few boughts of stubbornness that came with adolescents- just crossed his arms and fumed on the couch. "Boy, don't make me get the belt! I'll beat yo' ass!" Grabbing him by the ear, Tasha pulled him off of the couch and he grumbled, but went to help his sister.

Just as she predicted, Tashas's mother- Ciara- came through through the door of their tiny apartment only a few minutes later. With her brother and sister already seated, Tasha was serving up the chicken and rice that she had made for dinner.

"Mommy!" Alyssa cheered and Ciara gave her youngest a big smile as Tasha put down the pot of food to help her with the bags she was struggling with.

"Hey, baby!" She said back in a cheery voice as Tasha took the bags from her. "These are day-olds from the bakery downtown by the hospital. I was lucky, I got off early because they were just about to throw them out."

"Are there donuts?!" Alyssa asked immediately. Ciara gave her another smile as she sat down at the table between her and Hakeem.

"I got donuts, and bear claws, and cupcakes and muffins," She told her and Alyssa's eyes widened.

"Can I have one?!"

"Maybe after dinner," Tasha answered before her mother could. Opening the fridge, she began to fill the empty space with the pastry boxes inside the bags. "Come here," She beckoned her little sister over before telling her mother and brother to eat. They didn't question her, but Ciara watched as Tasha went to her bag that was hung by the door and pulled out a sequined pouch before taking it over to the sink. Taking everything out, Tasha washed her hands before drying them with a paper towel and picking up her lancing device.

"Do you need some help?" Tasha shook her head as she put in a new lancet and then put a new test strip into the glucose meter. Once she was one she picked up Alyssa and sat her up on the counter.

"It's gonna hurt," The five year old whined and Tasha shook her head.

"No, it's not." She went through this with Alyssa every time, but she could understand that it wasn't ideal to get your fingers pricked every day. "On three; one, two-" Alyssa yelped as the needle pricked her finger.

"You said three!"

"She always says three," Hakeem reminded before his mother shushed him. Tasha squeezed a bit on Alyssa's finger before she actually saw blood and then applied it to the strip. It only took a few moments for the results to pop up.

"It's a little low," Tasha told her mother as she cleaned Alyssa's finger before applying a Hello Kitty band aid. It wasn't really necessary, but it did make Alyssa fell better. "I'll check it again after she finishes eating."

Dinner passed without much talking that didn't come from Alyssa and Tasha tested her again and was happy that her levels were a little under normal before allowing her to have a couple of donut holes.

With her mother tired and already in bed, it was up to Tasha to get Alyssa bathed and get her and Hakeem to bed in the room they shared before she went to the living room. Unfortunately, with all the pay cuts and lay-offs at the hospital over the past couple of years, Tasha's family had been forced to move multiple times before finally settling in a two bedroom apartment closer to Tasha's school. Because of that, Tasha slept on the couch in the living room while all of her stuff was split between her mother's room and siblings room. Tasha didn't mind though, she knew that he mother was doing the best she could with her limited resources.

In the living room, Tasha was only able to enjoy about an hour of alone time in front of the tv before it was ten and time for her to get to work.

Since her mother worked during the day while she, Alyssa, and Hakeem were at school and then their normal after school activities, Tasha worked nights at a gas station a few blocks away from her apartment.

Getting out of her car, Tasha pulled on the ugly blue vest she was asked to wear before going into the gas station where the owner was waiting to be relieved. Once he was gone, Tasha grabbed a bottle of soda, a bag of chips, and a magazine before going behind the counter; she wasn't worried about being caught by her boss considering the cameras inside the store were only for show.

She had been there for about eight hours- making it almost six AM- when her first customer finally came into the store. "Mr. Shue?"

He looked just as surprised to see her as she was him. "Tasha," He looked around, noticing there was no one else in the store. "I wasn't expecting to find you here."

"Ditto," She replied as her came over to the counter.

"I've been to this store every day before school and I've never seen you,"

"I woke nights and a little of the morning," She told him. "I'm usually gone by six-thirty so I can get to school."

"When do you sleep?" Mr. Schue probably meant it as a joke, but Tasha answered anyway.

"After the after school Glee club meeting for about two hours before I have to pick up my brother and sister." She saw the concern clear on his face, but waved it off. "I'm kidding; I only work three times a week, so I'm fine the rest of the time. Did you need gas?"

A little confused by the sudden change in conversation, Mr. Schue nodded before handing over his credit card. "Fifteen on number one." He watched her as she rung it up on the computer system. He internally wondered what mother would allow her daughter to- at such a young age- work by herself at night at a gas station where any number of things could happen to her. The answer, however, was apparent; _"A mother who needed the money."_

So, while her eyes were still on the monitor, Mr. Schue slipped a twenty into the tip jar. With it right next to the cash register, Tasha saw him slip into the twenty, but didn't say anything. If he wanted to give her money, she wasn't going to stop him.

"Alright," She said, giving him a smile. "You're all set. I'll see you at school." Mr. Schue gave her a smile back before leaving and Tasha kept her eyes on him as he got in his car and left. Once his car was out of sight, she grabbed the tip jar and began counting what was inside.

"Twenty-two bucks," She sighed. She could add it to what she had already saved up, but Tasha could already tell that there was no way she would be able to afford her sister's insulin that month. Her only options were to skip school pick up a few more shifts at the gas station or find another job- or she could give plasma at the Plasma Center that had opened up in the plaza. One of her friends had gotten fifty bucks for one donation and said that it had only taken a couple of hours. Tasha sighed again. The things she did for her family.

" _Make my way through the motions, I try to ignore it, but home's looking farther the closer I get. Don't know why I can't see the end...Is it over yet?_ " She sighed once more, putting away her tips and grabbing her backpack. Time for school. " _A short leash and a short fuse don't match. They tell me it ain't that bad; "Now don't you overreact." So I just hold my breath, don't know why I can't see the sun when young should be fun..._ " She left the gas station, making sure to lock up, before getting into her car and starting towards school.

" _And I guess the bad can get better; Gotta be wrong before it's right; Every happy phrase engraved in my mind and I've always been a go-getter; There's truth in every word I write, but still the growing pains- growing pains, they're keeping me up at night._ "

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah,

" _And I can't hide 'cause growing pains are keeping me up at night,_ "

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah,

" _And I can't hide 'cause growing pains are keeping me up at night..._ " Pulling into the school parking lot, Tasha took a spot close to the school before getting out. A bunch of other kids had arrived to school early too in order to get breakfast, but not Tasha. No, Tasha did what she did every morning since joining Glee club; she snuck into the choir room to use the sound equipment for a while before classes started. She, however, didn't see Mr. Schue watching from his office as she began tapping out a familiar beat.

" _Try to mend what's left of my content incomprehension as I take on the stress of the mess that I've made. Don't know if I even care for "grown" if it's just alone...yeah._ "

" _And I guess the bad can get better; Gotta be wrong before it's right; Every happy phrase engraved in my mind. I've always been a go-getter; There's truth in every word I write, but still the growing pains- growing pains, they're keeping me up at night._ "

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah,

" _And I can't hide 'cause growing pains are keeping me up at night,_ "

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah,

" _And I can't hide 'cause growing pains are keeping me up at night...Starting to look like Ms. Know-it-all; Can't take her own advice; Can't find pieces of peace of mind, I cry more than I want to admit, but I can't lie to myself, to anyone 'cause phonin' it in isn't any fun. Can't run back to my youth the way I want to, the days my brother was quicker to fool. AM radio, not much to do, used monsters as an excuse to lie awake. Now the monsters are the ones that I have to face. No band-aids for the growing_ _pains_."

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah...

" _No, no band-aids for the growing pains..._ " After tapping the last pad, Tasha let her fingers hover as her eyes raised up and met Mr. Schue's through the window looking into his office. He stared back, having no idea what to say or do. Knowing there wasn't anything he could, Tasha grabbed her bag before leaving the choir room.


End file.
